Zimbabwe bank interest rates decline

News Update as @ 1530 hours, Tuesday 17 February 2015

Feedback: [email protected]: [email protected]

By Rumbidzayi Zinyuke

Lending rates at commercial banks for individuals and corporate clients declined from 14.16 percent to 14.08 percent and 9.66 percent to 9.47 per-cent respectively.

Weighted lending rates at merchant banks for individuals and corporate cli-ents remained unchanged at 19 percent and 18 percent respectively.

The central bank and the Bankers Asso-ciation of Zimbabwe have been working at normalising bank charges and inter-est rate following complaints that the country has one of the highest rates in the region.

In his monetary policy statement, RBZ govenor John Mangudya said most banks had reduced interest rates for their performing customers to below

10 percent. The total value of transac-tions processed through the National Payment System (NPS) in the week ending February 6, 2015 declined to US$1,031 billion, down from US$1,162 billion, recorded during the previous week due to a decline in transactions processed through the Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) system. Latest fig-

ures from the Reserve Bank of Zimba-bwe show that RTGS transaction went down 23 percent from US$984 million in the previous week to US$761 million, during the week under review.

In terms of proportions, RTGS payments accounted for 73.81 percent of the total value of transactions processed through

the NPS, followed by Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) at 10.58 percent.

Mobile transactions accounted for 9.61 percent of total value of transactions while Point of Sale (POS) transactions were 5.63 percent and cheque transac-tions, 0.37%.

In volume terms, mobile-based trans-actions accounted for 82.96 percent of total NPS transactions, followed by ATMs at 8.22 percent, POS at 7.81 per-cent, RTGS at 0.85 percent and cheque transactions at 0.17 percent.

The average deposit rates for savings and 1 month tenor closed the week flat at last week’s rate of 3.31 percent and 9.37 percent respectively.

Deposits of a 3 month tenor however declined to 10.99 percent from 11.00 percent in the previous week. •

Bank interest rates decline

Dr Govenor Mangudya

BH24 Reporter

Zimbabwe’s tobacco exports for the period 1 January to 13 February 2015 reached $193,8 million up from only $36,4 million recorded during the same time last year.

According to figures from the Tobacco Industry Marketing Board, more than 27 million killogrammes were sold at an average price of $7, 19 compared to 10, 5 million killogrammes sold at $3,47 in the previous year.

China has taken up more than 19,1 mil-lion kgs worth $166,5 million at $8,72 per kg up from 1,6 million kgs worth $12,5 million at $7.76 per kg in the same period last year.

Sales to South Africa went up to 2,06 million kgs valued at $7.9 million from 931 162 kgs worth $3,9 million sold last year. Mauritius rose into the top five buyers of Zimbabwe’s tobacco taking up 936 000 kgs in the review period worth $3,4 million at $3,67 per kg.

Other countries that have bought sig-nificant quantities of the golden leaf in the period under review include Russia, United Arab Emirates, Belgium and Tan-zania.

TIMB said the total number of grow-ers that have registered for the 2015 season in the period under review has gone down to 89 012 from 89 624 in

the previous year. New registration for 2015 stand at 16 585 while about 26 113 growers who sold their crop in 2014 have not yet registered for 2015

season. The 2015 marketing season is expected to begin on March 4 this year at auction floors. . •

2 NEWS

Tobacco exports exceed $190 million

BH24 Reporter

RioZim Limited says it expects to report a bigger loss for the full year to Decem-ber due to lower tonnage at its Renco Mine combined with the low gold prices in the fourth quarter of last year.

In a statement, the company said production at Renco Mine decreased marginally by 0.5 percent as a result of lower than anticipated tonnages and ore grade.

“The production was adversely In addition the mine’s performance was adversely affected by the continued weakening of gold prices especially in the fourth quarter of the year. However, from October 2014 the effect of declin-ing gold prices was partially neutralized by a welcome reduction in the gold roy-alty levy from 7 percent to 5 percent,” the company said.

Despite the lower output, the group’s annual production increased by 6 per-cent from the prior year.

RioZim also said the matte supply at Empress Nickel Refinery (ENR) was

erratic and in short supply following a scheduled maintenance shut down by the company’s sole supplier of matte thereby seriously constraining the group’s performance for the second half of the year.

This resulted in only 30 percent of the annual contractual matte supplies being received and the Refinery operating at 25 percent capacity.

“Against this background the group

expects to report an increased oper-ating loss for the financial year ended 31 December 2014 over the loss that was reported in June 2014. The net loss position of the Group will be further worsened by finance charges incurred on the Group’s exposure,” the firm said.

The group posted an after tax loss of $7,4 million with revenue down 39 per-cent to $39,3 million for the six months to June.

RioZim’s full year results will be pub-lished on the 27th of March 2015. The company said it is engaged in initiatives that will mitigate the concentration risk of dependence on one matte supplier but the engagements are only likely to start yielding results in the second half of this year.

The firm is seeking to raise $10 million through a rights offer to reopen the Cam and Motoring gold mine near Kad-oma. •

3 analysis3 NEWS

RioZim forecasts further losses in FY14

BH24

Government has started paying back loans it acquired from the European Investment Bank (EIB) as it moves to restore ties with the institution, a cabi-net Minister said on Monday.

The EIB suspended lending to the Zim-babwe government over a decade ago due to a long term debt which, accord-ing to the 2014 National Budget, is in excess of $300 million.

In addition to the EIB, Zimbabwe also has outstanding debts with the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the African Development Bank.

Finance and Economic Development Minister Patrick Chinamasa said restor-ing normal ties with financial institutions including the EIB was a crucial step towards resuscitating the economy.

“By the way we started this January

to make token payments to the EIB to demonstrate our commitment to do business with the bank,” he said.

Chinamasa said a delegation from the bank would soon arrive in Zimbabwe, making it the fourth visit in recent times.

“We would really appreciate it, if we could have the EIB back in Zimbabwe. So I am happy that the EIB will be hav-ing another mission to Zimbabwe.

“Our productive sector needs support to accelerate economic growth and achieve sustainable development,” said Chinamasa. The local industry requires over $2 billion in the short term to bridge funding gaps which have crippled capacity utilization and resulted in clo-sure of some firms.

Industrial productivity collapsed under the weight of illegal economic sanctions imposed by the West over a decade ago.

The sanctions, coupled with bad pub-licity from some Western media, have tainted the image of Zimbabwe as a safe investment destination and are estimated to have cost the economy over $42 billion. — New Ziana •

5 NEWS

Zim moves to repay EIB loan

66 TECHNOLOGY

Towards the end of last year, a group of African tech entrepreneurs, including some Zimbabweans, took part in the 2014 Ampion Venture Bus.

Like the Startup Bus road-trip/hacka-thon from the year before, the objective was to create startups that would live beyond the cross country techpreneur-ship expedition.

Some of the teams have gone on to pursue the tech solutions they created on that bus.

One of these startup teams, led by local tech entrepreneur Tawanda Chikosi, created the Road Rules App which is an Android-based Provisional Drivers’ Licence Test learning solution.

It was selected as a runner-up at Africa-Com 2014 where all nine teams pitched their solutions to a panel of judges.

The Road Rules App, which was designed initially for dispensing ques-tions and solutions on road rules and safety tips under Zimbabwean traffic laws and regulations, will be exhibiting at the Apps World conference to be held in Germany in April this year.

This follows continued iterations of the Road Rules App that have seen the team work on aspects such as an improved user interface and experience guided by responses from a pilot phase, the secur-ing of some early stage funding and the expansion of the scope of the app to cater for traffic safety requirements in other Southern African countries.

The Road Rules App will be the first Zim-babwean app to exhibit at Apps World. This two-day conference is a six-year-old multi-platform application global showcase that attracts developers, manufacturers and platform owners from around the world.

This year’s edition of Apps World will have over 150 exhibitors and over

6,000 attendees.

According to Chikosi, the Road Rules team lead, their team is keen on net-working with app development peers, getting feedback from a host of other developers with varying perspectives and securing the right partnerships that can help in making a broader impact with their app. — Techzim •

Zimbabwean startup to exhibit its app at Apps World Germany 2015

BH24

8 NEWS

The Zimbabwe Association of Microfi-nance Institutions (Zamfi) says small and medium scale enterprises (SMEs) require strategic guidance and finan-cial support to be able to play a bigger and effective role in driving the econ-omy.

Described by Finance and Economic Development Minister Patrick Chi-namasa as the “new economy,” the largely informal SMEs sector has become the bedrock of the Zimba-bwean economy in providing employ-ment, creating more jobs than the shrinking formal sector.

However, failure to contribute reve-nue to a struggling fiscus remains its major ill.

Zamfi board chairman Patrick Mangwendeza told New Ziana the sector “has been very brave” in the past few years but it remains on shaky ground due to lack of support and guidance.

“We take full cognizance of the belief that the SME sector is the engine for growth. It is our ardent wish that this sector be fueled enough for it to play its role,” he said.

“For the past few years, although it has been a very brave sector, it seemed as if it was doddering between the hospi-tal and the actual intensive care unit and the doctors were slow in assisting with the medication which is funding, technological up scaling, competitive products and foreign markets among others,” he said.

While microfinance institutions are also battling prevailing liquidity challenges, Mangwendeza said the entities, which have been the major funders of SMEs in the absence of support from com-mercial banks, were ready to provide more support to the sector.

A recent study the Bankers Associ-ation of Zimbabwe commissioned found that lack of funding was the big-gest handicap for SMEs and urged the financial institutions to adopt a new approach of dealing with the sector.

The study also found that the infor-mal sector also suffers from negative perception with players considered as high risk as some of their activities are perceived as illegal in nature.

Meanwhile, Mangwendeza was opti-mistic current efforts by Government to stimulate economic growth as well

as attempts by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe to stabilise the financial sector would benefit SMEs this year.

“Monetary stability which is key to the performance of the whole financial sector which includes microfinance, is likely to record significant improve-ments due to a number of noble inter-vention strategies that have already been indicated by the monetary authorities in their recent policy pro-nouncements,” he said.

Some of measures announced include introduction of the interbank money market, setting up of national credit reference department, recapitalisation of the central bank and creation of the Zimbabwe Asset Management Com-pany, which is buying non-performing loans from the banks.

Mangwendeza said Government efforts to normalise relations with the West, clarification of indigenisation laws and implementation of deals signed with the Chinese and the Rus-sians among other investors would also drive economic growth for the benefit of the whole economy includ-ing the microfinance sector. — New Ziana •

SMEs ‘brave sector’ that requires strategic support

BH24

The equities market shed yesterday’s gains to retreat slightly in today’s trades.

The Industrial index was down 0.29 points to close at 168.73 points. The cement maker PPC lost 10 cents to trade at 190 cents, Hippo shed a cent to 45 cents and Innscor was 0.99 cents lower at 59 cents. DZLH slipped 0.50 cents to close at 8 cents whilst Econet and Tur-nall both dropped 0.10 cents to settle at 54.80 cents and a cent respectively. Two counters traded in the positive territory; Fidelity Life gained a cent to 6 cents and Padenga added 0.50 cents to close at 9.50 cents.

The Mining index slid 0.49 points to close at 57.64 points. Falgold eased 0.50 cents to 2.50 cents and Bindura marginally lost 0.01 cents to 4.99 cents. Hwange and Riozim were unchanged at 4 cents and 15 cents respectively.— BH24 Reporter •

10 ZSE REVIEW

Equities market retreat

We note with pleasure the signing of a $270 million deal for the National Indic-ative Programme (Nip) between Zim-babwe and the European Union (EU) yesterday.

The deal is targeted at supporting agri-culture, health and governance and institutional building and marks the resumption of co-operation between the bloc and Zimbabwe since 2002.

The Zimbabwean economy has been performing sub-optimally for some time now and one key factor has always stood above them all.

Zimbabwe needs capital injection. But the external debt overhang has been a sore issue. Very few multilateral finan-ciers are willing to extend loans to the country, and are very cautious even when agreeing to lend to private sector firms.

While Zimbabwe has received funding from the African Development Bank (AFDB), the PTA Bank and several Chi-nese financial institutions, it has not been enough to get the economy back on its feet.

And we cannot expect any significant

upturn in tax revenue when Zimra is simply taxing the same old companies that in any case, hardly have their heads above the water.

So the fact that the EU has decided to provide assistance directly through Treasury is welcome considering that a number of local civil society organi-sations are being investigated by the Washington administration for misuse of funds allocated to them for their work in Zimbabwe.

And the fact that the money will go towards the key sectors in the economy is a step in the right direction.

In addition to nine-mega deals for infra-structure signed with China last year and the ones signed with Russia, we can say Zimbabwe might be getting some-where at last.

This kind of support will drive Zimba-bwe’s economy a long way forward.

But Government should also make sure that the sectors that receive the money will be able to sufficiently feed into the value chain and we can see growth in other sectors through these funds.

Government will have to apply fiscal

prudence to make sure that the money goes to good use. Otherwise we might not get more funding at all.

We feel that there is so much more that groupings like the BRICS, EU,IMF and others can do to assist Zimbabwe. Greater engagement with these emerg-ing economies will help to ensure that Zimbabwe harnesses from the wealth and experiences of these countries.

But good governance and management will be key in helping to boost confi-dence in our country. And more money will thus follow. •

11 analysis11 BH24 COMMENT

Good governance key to securing more funding for Zimbabwe

BH24

A weekend report that SABMiller was in the sights of investors linked to a larger rival buoyed shares in the brewer, even as analysts said the rumours were a rehash of last year’s speculation.

Britain’s Mail on Sunday said Brazilian investment firm 3G Capital was consid-ering a £75bn bid for SABMiller, whose shares on Monday closed up 2.14% in London and 1.14% on the JSE.

The paper cited an anonymous source saying 3G Capital had been studying how it could buy SABMiller with con-sortium partners, but said the plan was still in its early stages and no formal approach had been made.

3G Capital owns 21% of the world’s largest brewer, Anheuser-Busch InBev (AB InBev), and its founding partners serve on AB InBev’s board.

The bid would be a 32% premium to

SABMiller’s market value of just less than £57bn. SABMiller’s share gains were more muted than after a similar report by the Wall Street Journal last September when its shares jumped nearly 13%. The Wall Street Journal had also reported a possible £75bn takeover of the company by AB InBev, which was reportedly talking to banks to arrange financing for the deal.

Talk of a tie-up between the world’s two largest brewers has been simmering for years, with sporadic reports of imminent consolidation lifting shares across the sector at least twice last year.

Heineken said in September it had rejected a takeover proposal by SAB-Miller. Some analysts believed SABMiller was attempting to put itself out of AB InBev’s reach, though SABMiller denied

this. Asset manager Vestact said in a note to clients on Monday that while a £75bn bid "sounds like too much", offer-ing a hefty premium might be the only option to entice SABMiller shareholders.

SABMiller’s two biggest shareholders, Altria Group and BevCo, collectively hold just less than 41% of the compa-ny’s stock.

Vestact said that the weekend report appeared to be "an old story resurfac-ing". Another analyst said that while there could be merit to speculation of consolidation, the latest report seemed to be "thinly based".

Bank of America Merrill Lynch said that any 3G Capital bid would have to include AB InBev since the Brazilian investment company owned 21% of

the brewer, according to Bloomberg. With SABMiller’s emerging market focus complementing AB InBev’s largely mature market footprint, the combina-tion would boost earnings, the invest-ment bank said. But it added that there were less obvious synergies than the companies’ past mergers, partly due to cultural differences.

Barclays said last year that an AB InBev-SABMiller deal was not likely to be as compelling as AB InBev’s previ-ous acquisitions, given more limited cost savings, a longer payback period and greater execution risk. Meanwhile, Reuters last week reported that SAB-Miller was considering buying a stake in Myanmar’s biggest brewer, Myan-mar Brewery. SABMiller’s policy is not to comment on market speculation.— BDLive •

REGIONAL NEWS 13

Rumour of bid for SABMiller boosts brewer

14 DIARY OF EVENTS

The black arrow indicate level of load shedding across the country.

POWER GENERATION STATS

Gen Station

17 February 15

Energy

(Megawatts)

Hwange 441 MW

Kariba 614 MW

Harare 30 MW

Munyati 24 MW

Bulawayo 24 MW

Imports 100 MW

Total 1210 MW

Powerspeed Electrical AGM, 17 February 2015 at

1100 hrs, Powerspeed Complex Boardroom, Gate

1, Cnr Cripps road/Kelvin north rd.

26 February - 48th Annual General Meeting of

Mashonaland Holdings Limited; Place: Boardroom,

19th Floor, ZB Life Towers, 77 Jason Moyo Avenue;

Time: 1200 hours.

11 March 2015 - 3rd ZIMBABWE SME BANKING &

MICROFINANCE SUMMIT 2015; Place: Sango Con-

ference Center (Cresta Lodge Harare); Time: Time:

8.30am -4.30pm

THE BH24 DIARY

BH24

16 ZSE

ZSEMOVERS CHANGE TODAY PRICE USC SHAKERS CHANGE TODAY PRICE USC

ZIMPLOW 15,38 7.50 FIDELITy -16.66 5.00

INNSCOR 1.67 59.99

DELTA 0,86 116.00

INDICES

INDEx PREVIOUS TODAY MOVE CHANGE

INDUSTRIAL 168.09 168.36 +0.27 POINTS +0.16%

MINING 59.93 58.13 -1.80 POINTS +3.00%

Stocks Exchange

PREVIOUS

17 AFRICA STOCKS

Botswana 8,664.65 -11.96 -0.14% 12July

Cote dIvoire 249.37 -2.77 -1.10% 13Jan

Egypt 9,544.08 +235.10 +2.53% 14Jan

Ghana 2,259.78 -0.36 -0.02% 13Jan

Kenya 5,138.07 +16.08 +0.31% 13Jan

Malawi 14,904.99 +0.00 +0.00% 14Jan

Mauritius 6,693.78 -23.07 -0.34% 14Jan

Morocco 10,221.94 +195.15 +1.95% 13Jan

Nigeria 28,740.61 -1,149.25 -3.84% 14Jan

Rwanda 143.39 +0.20 +0.14% 02Oct

Tanzania 2,602.19 -30.74 -1.17% 28Oct

Tunisia 4,624.39 -39.32 -0.84% 07Mar

Uganda 1,942.77 -12.69 -0.65% 10Dec

Zambia 6,155.26 +3.96 +0.06% 12Jan

Zimbabwe 164.41 +0.66 +0.40% 14Jan

African stock round up Commodity Prices

Name Price

Crude Oil 1,300.91 -0.21%

Spot Gold USD/oz 1,292.63 -0.26%

Spot Silver USD/oz 19.38 -0.46%

Spot Platinum USD/oz 1,421.25 -0.33%

Spot Palladium USD/oz 798.50 -0.64%

LME Copper USD/t 6,770 -0.18%

LME Aluminium USD/t 1,780 -1.17%

LME Nickel USD/t 18,230 -1.73%

LME Lead USD/t 2,095 -1.41%

Quote of the day — Don't makE ExcusEs For why you can't gEt it DonE. Focus on all thE rEa-sons why you must makE it happEn.

Globalshareholder.com

18 INTERNATIONAL NEWS

At over $60 a barrel, the first time this year, Brent Crude is on a high amid signs that industry spending cuts might curb excess supply.

Due to oversupply in the last year, Brent Crude crashed to its lowest in almost a decade, having plunged from $115 a barrel to $45.19 in January.

“Naturally, when prices fall that much within that short a time, you’re likely to have a severe rebound as well, though speculators are possibly adding more fuel on the way up now,” said Phil

Flynn, an analyst at the Price Futures Group in Chicago. Currently, the belief is that there is a global oversupply of oil, almost two million barrels a day above current demand. And these sup-plies are outweighing tepid demand growth, causing a sink in price.

The Guardian samples predictions of analysts at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, which all claim that Brent’s aver-age prices will range between $40 and $70 a barrel in the next 18 months.

“A continued build in storage will likely

further exacerbate near-term price volatility and keep pressing companies to make capital expenditure reduction decisions that will have long-lasting effects on production,” they wrote in a note.

Brent stirred the climb up by $2.24, or nearly four percent, at $61.52 a barrel. It rose a 6 percent over the week and 15 percent over the last month.

Brent’s increase this week is hinged on businesses in the sector cutting back on spending, though a number of traders

attributed it to an unexpected acceler-ation in euro zone economic growth in the final quarter of 2014.

On Thursday, American-based shale oil producer, Apache, said that output would be roughly flat in 2015 following the price collapse, as it cuts its rig count and capital spending.

As companies cut budgets, Royal Dutch Shell also warned that oil supply might not be able to keep up with demand, which might result in another oil boom. — Ventures Africa •

Oil prices hit $60 for the first time this year

By Sifelani Tsiko

When an African is asked to choose nice things to eat, it is not surprising that the first thing that races to his mind will be to visit a Chinese, Indian, Portuguese or Thai restaurant.

It’s so terrible that we will not choose the African cuisine. By going to other people’s restaurants we are simply making the Chinese and Indians mil-lionaires. We are making them richer and powerful by giving them our hard earned dollar. In this instalment, I do not intend to discourage Africans from going for food diversity but to build a momen-

tum that will see their own dishes being taken up globally.

Many could be wondering why, I have chosen to first attack our taste buds. After thinking thoroughly about the heart-rending story of how the late popular Zimbabwe TV soap Studio 263 actor, Pretty Xaba had to spend more US$20 000 to enable her to undergo treatment for cancer of the oesophagus in India, I have come up with my own reasons why we need to start mobilising resources to build a heart and cancer centre with state-of-the-art equipment.

Xaba flew to India for surgery but later

died there. Before her trip, she had received $20 000 from Prophetic Heal-ing and Deliverance Ministries leader Prophet Walter Magaya to cover part of the costs.

In another case, last year in November, a Great Zimbabwe University student Mollen Makoni, who was diagnosed with a life-threatening chronic kidney ailment, underwent a kidney trans-plant in India after she secured US$25 000 financial support from Chivi Rural District Council chairperson and Zimba-bwe Amalgamated Housing Association (Zaha) director-general Killer Zivhu.

Makoni’s operation was successful oper-ation following a kidney donation by her younger sister. There are many other cases and the Indian embassy in Harare estimates that more than 200 Zimba-bweans went to India for treatment in 2014.

Using an average of US$20 000 as the cost of treating one Zimbabwean who went to India for surgery, this means Zimbabwe spent a total of US$4 million to treat its 200 nationals.

Is this amount not enough to set up a heart and cancer centre here in Zimba-bwe that can at least increase access for locals to receive specialist treatment?

Zimbabweans need to think seriously about the heavy foreign currency leak-ages that it is helping to shore up India’s medical tourism industry which is one of the fastest growing sectors in this Asian economy.

Economic analysts say medical tour-ism in India is expected to experience an annual growth rate of 30 percent, making it a $2 billion industry by 2015. They say as medical treatment costs in

19 analysis

How Zimbabwe bleeds dry

19 ANALYSIS

20 analysis20 ANALYSIS

the developed world balloon – with the United States leading the way – more and more Westerners are finding the prospect of international travel for med-ical care increasingly appealing. An esti-mated 150 000 people travel to India for low-priced healthcare procedures every year. Zimbabweans, no doubt are adding to this growth.

Given the vast medical expertise we have here in Zimbabwe, is it not jus-tified for the country to start thinking seriously about investing in its medi-cal infrastructure for heart and cancer treatment.

If well-wishers can donate up to $25 000 for one person to travel to India for surgery, is it not possible for them to donate the amount say, for the exten-sion of a wing at Parirenyatwa Hospital to specialize in heart and cancer treat-ment?

Most big suppliers of heart and cancer equipment, accept Build-Operate-Trans-fer arrangements, whereby equipment say for US$150 000 can be supplied and the hospital using money from patients then repays the loan or use-and-pay facility.

Our mobile networks can dedicate one cent from every call made towards this project. In no time, it will be possible for Zimbabwe to build its own medical tour-ism sector which can draw clients from the entire southern Africa region.

This piece is not in any way exhaustive of the problems Zimbabwe and Africa faces, but it should be enough to peel the eyes of Africans to see some of the major reasons why Africa still remains so embarrassingly poor.

No one really likes rules, apart from the people who write them. But a bit of advice might help from time to time to help Zimbabweans see the broader picture.

Indigenisation should not be confined to the land and industrial sector. It should also be extended to the medical sector. Cuba is enjoying a boom in medical tourism and why should Zimbabwe not enjoy the same.

We have health specialists who can do what is being done Indian and Cuban doctors, but what they lack is the equip-ment and the necessary resources to motivate them. In my own regard, we

have sufficient education to undertake such major surgery but we simply lack the political will and commitment to drive ourselves to such levels.

We need to open up our minds to knowledge and skills needed to run heart and cancer centres and equip them sufficiently to discover ideas and opportunities that will create jobs and put people in employment.

It will also save us that dollar that we need to spur our economy.

Our doctors and nurses are capable and compete well with other health profes-sionals in other countries.

Surely, is there need for people to go to India and other countries to seek med-ical attention when we can do this here on our own.

Indians are showing us the way. The popular perception is that Africa gener-ates so much money but it just wastes the money by promoting business else-where.

The amount of money flowing out of Zimbabwe and most other African coun-tries for medical treatment is enough to

build several highly equipped centres for heart and cancer centres.

We are now familiar with some of the ways in which Africa continues to be sucked dry by other countries that know how exploit opportunities on the conti-nent.

One social commentator aptly summed it up: “We are poor because we do not have the know-how to exploit our own resources and such. We are poor because these foreign nations take us for fools in international trade, because we are not informed enough to negoti-ate properly.

“Also, Africans do not support their own. When we have young, intelligent people who come up with breakthrough ideas in business, technology or science, how often do governments or financial insti-tutions support them?

“One of the things that have kept Amer-ica and other Western countries still leading the world is their ability and will-ingness to support people with excep-tional ideas that would create employ-ment opportunities for thousands of people and bring economic prosperity.” •