By Tawanda Mangoma

Zimbabwe is set to become a regional hub for power distribution by 2021 following plans to start construction of a 1 000-kilometre power line next year in partnership with stakeholders from Mozambique and South Africa, an official has said.

Zimbabwe Electricity Transmission and Distribution Company (ZETDC) systems development manager Engineer Ikhupuleng Dube said the establishment of the power line would result in the construction of a mega power station in Triangle, that would distribute power to the region.

Addressing stakeholders, who included villagers, businesspeople and politicians at a consultative meeting in Mwenezi on Wednesday last week, Eng Dube said the power line would originate in Mozambique, pass through southern Zimbabwe and ends in South Africa’s northern Limpopo Province.

“We are rolling out construction work for a 400KVA power line with maximum capacity of carrying 1 740 mega watts,” he said.

“We are seated at the hub of the region, meaning power has to come through Zimbabwe and we are now establishing a super grid so that power from the north, east, west and south comes to Zimbabwe and then we distribute it to where it would be required.”

Eng Dube said construction work for the power line would start early next year. “In line with that, we are developing projects like Zisavona and Mozisa, which we are speaking about here,” he said. “On Mozisa, we are finalising technical studies by September this year and we hope to finish the Environmental Studies in 21 days.

“We are also doing financial structuring together with our partners who will be using the line, so that actual construction work can start early next year.”

Eng Dube said the project would be funded by the Development Bank of Southern Africa to the tune of $244 million. “We anticipate finishing construction work by 2021 because the longest area to be constructed will be in Zimbabwe,” he said.

“The line will be done in phases. First, we have the Orange Grove (Mozambique) to Triangle and that one has already gone to tender, selected a contractor and we have carried out contract negotiations.

“The second leg is between Triangle and Njelele in South Africa. We are finalising preparatory work. From Orange Grove to Triangle, we are talking about $134 million and a massive substation will be constructed in Triangle.

“As from Triangle to Njelele, we will need about $110 million.” Eng Dube said the project would result in some communities being resettled to pave way for the construction of the power line.

He said those affected by the construction of the power line would be compensated.

“In line with this ambitious project of building a 1000-km power line originating from Northern Mozambique, a corridor of 60 metres in width is required,” he said.

“We are going to compensate fully all those who will be affected by this development. “We will build houses, drill boreholes and compensate those whose farming activities would be interrupted during the actual construction work.”

Eng Dube said employment opportunities would be reserved for those in surrounding communities.

He said Zimbabwe was now working towards having power reserves.

ANALYSIS

In November 2016 a sorrowful Brian Molefe announced he would resign from Eskom “in the interests of good corporate governance” after the Public Protector proved just how chummy he was with Gupta Inc. Three months later Molefe received a controversial R30-million golden handshake… err, performance bonus. No, make that a pension fund payout. Because Molefe – Eskom’s CEO at the time – got retrenched. Or resigned. Took early retirement? No, was on unpaid leave. Yeah, we all got lost in the absurdity that stopped short of maternity leave. Thanks to a series of emails and documents leaked from the heart of Eskom, SCORPIO now clears the confusion. By PAULI VAN WYK.

Brian Molefe’s resignation “in the interests of good corporate governance” on 11 November, 2016, was a lie.

Newly leaked emails indicate that Molefe started planning the feathering of his retirement nest at least as early as a year before, in November 2015 – two months after he was employed by Eskom on a fixed five-year contract.

By Bassey Udo

The Nigerian economy is gradually coming out of recession, with the annual inflation falling in June for the fifth straight month, the National Bureau of Statistics said Monday.

The bureau said inflation, measured by the Consumer Price Index, fell to 16.10 per cent, lower than 16.25 per cent rate recorded in May.

“The latest index represents the fifth consecutive decline in the rate of inflation since January 2017,” the statistics agency said.

The index reflects the average change over time in prices of goods and services consumed by people for day-to-day living.

On a month-on-month basis, the NBS said the index was 0.30 per cent lower than 1.88 per cent recorded the previous month.

The report noted that the price movement reflected the eigth straight month of decline in the core index since November 2016.

The Urban index rose by 16.15 percent (year-on-year) in June 2017 from 16.34 percent recorded in May, while the Rural index increased by 16.01 percent in June from 16.02 percent in May.

On month-on-month basis, the urban index rose by 1.60 percent in June from 1.84 percent recorded in May, while the rural index rose by 1.57 percent in June from 1.92 percent in May.

The corresponding 12-month year-on-year average percentage change for the urban index increased from 18.88 percent in June to 18.69 percent in May.

Corresponding rural index also increasing from 16.50 percent in May to 16.56 percent in June.

Further review of the latest report showed that the Composite Food Index rose by 19.91 per cent during the month.

The rise was as a result of increases in prices of meat, bread and cereals, fish, potatoes, yam and other tubers, oils and fats, milk, cheese and eggs, coffee, tea and cocoa.

The highest increases were recorded in prices of solid fuels, clothing materials and other articles of clothing and clothing accessories, liquid fuels, spirits, books and stationeries, passenger transport by air, garments, shoes and footwear and motorcycles.

The average 12-month annual rate of rise of the index was at 16.22 per cent for the 12-month period ending in June 2017, about 0.35 per cent points lower from the 12-month rate of change recorded in May.

By Amindeh Blaise Atabong

The Minister of Public Works has assured the Vice President of the construction company that all is being done for the clearing of PK40 to PK60 lane of the first phase of the project.

The Minister of Public Works, Emmanuel Nganou Djoumessi has assured the Chinese company executing the first phase of construction works of a double-carriage (express) road between Yaounde and Douala, that Government is taking its responsibilities to indemnify locals along the Kilometric Point (PK) 40 to PK 60. The Minister gave the assurance, Wednesday July 12, 2017, in Yaounde, during an audience with Liu Dongyuan, visiting Vice President of the China First Highway Engineering Company (CFHEC); the company executing the giant project.

During the audience, it was observed that work had been smoothly going on between 0 and 40 mileposts, but for the remaining 20 mileposts which all constitute the first phase of the project to link the economic capital Douala to the transit city of Yaounde for sub-regional corridors. Nganou told Liu Dongyuan that measures were already being taken to address the issue. “We will put across a correspondence to the Governor of the Centre region to sensitize the people along PK 40 and PK 60, so that you [CFHEC] can take advantage of the approaching dry season to push on with work,” Nganou noted.

CFHEC officials manifest their interest in executing the second phase of the project. They equally made a request for the government of Cameroon to disburse the ninth component of the project funds so that it could spur the Exim Bank of China to release the other component of the funds.

J’aime

By Eromosele Abiodun

Two industrial unions in the Nigerian maritime industry are set to cripple activities at the nation’s seaports Tuesday over a proposed amendment to the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) Act.

The protest, which would take place simultaneously in all the nation’s seaports, would be organised by the Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN) and the Senior Staff Association of Communications, Transport and Corporation (SSACTAC), Maritime Branch.

Sources close to the unions told THISDAY that the protest was to force the hands of the National Assembly, which had refused to respond to their letter written last June, expressing opposition to the proposed amendment.

Already, the Ports and Harbours Authority Bill, 2015 which seeks to repeal the Nigerian Ports Authority Act 1955 as amended, has been passed by the Senate and is awaiting the concurrence of the House of Representatives.

The bill was sponsored by a member of the House of Representatives, Hon. Nicholas Ossai.

MWUN had petitioned the Speaker of the House of Representatives over the bill, saying that it would lead to massive job losses for NPA workers.

They also pointed out several economic and security implications of the bill if passed.

When contacted, Secretary General of the union, Mr. Felix Akingboye, confirmed the imminent protests but refused to give details.

He told THISDAY: “We are mobilising our members in Lagos, Port Harcourt, Onne, Warri and Calabar for the demonstration. It will hold simultaneously in all the ports from 6am to 6pm on Tuesday. We are opposed to any attempt to further strip Nigerians of our patrimony through further concession in the guise of amending the NPA Act 1955 as amended.

“The promoters of the Bill are only after their personal interests and this is to concession the harbour operations of NPA to private individuals, whereas, all over the world, harbour operation is an exclusive duty of government because of the security implications and huge revenue generation.”

According to him, “The proposed bill has great security and revenue risks for the federal government and it would lead to a mass sack of NPA workers. We have carefully perused the Bill and the existing NPA Act of 1955 as amended.

“We cannot see any deficiency in the present NPA Act that warranted the Bill except for the latent intention of its promoters to corner for themselves harbour operations, which are major revenue earners for the NPA and by extension the federal government without taking into consideration the security implications to the country.”

The government, he stated, should avoid the same mistakes of the ports’ concession of 2006 which led to the sack of 12,000 NPA workers.

The President General of MWUN, Mr. Adewale Adeyanju, said the workers would not allow politicians to further strip the ports through the bill.

“We are aware of their plans. When the bill was being debated they did not invite critical stakeholders. How can you be amending the Ports’ Act without taking the opinion of port workers? We are not going back on this.” he said

INTERVIEW

Washington, DC — Lesotho is the only independent nation in the world with its entire land mass above 1,000 meters (3,281 feet). Now the country, with a population of 2.1 million and a surface area the size of Belgium, has another distinction – a top-tier electronic visa program, joining only 13 other countries on the continent, according to the African Development Bank’s Visa Openness Index.

Launched on May 5 – making Lesotho the ninth nation , the platform was created by the Lesotho government in partnership with a U.S.-based, privately owned IT company, Computer Frontiers, with offices and tech staff in Ghana, Uganda and several other African capitals. During last month’s U.S. Africa Business Summit in Washington, DC, where Lesotho e-visa was on display, AllAfrica’s Noluthando Crockett-Ntonga discussed the platform with T’sepiso Mosasane , Lesotho’s acting director of Immigration in the Ministry of Home Affairs, and Computer Frontiers President Barbara Keating. The interview has been edited for clarity and length.

How is e-visa helping Lesotho?

T’sepiso Mosasane : It has eliminated most of the challenges that we were encountering regarding visas. We used to have a manual system, and there were lots and lots of problems.  Apart from that, we were losing out on investment and tourism because many people didn’t know how to access our visa.  And our country was not even known in the world because we didn’t know how to advertise.

How long does it take to get a visa for Lesotho?

T’sepiso Mosasane : 48 hours.

Barbara Keating: We have a call center and adjudication of the visas is done 24/7.

Usually visas are stamped into a passport at an embassy. How do recipients show they have an e-visa?

T’sepiso Mosasane : They print it out – it has their photo and the details.

Barbara Keating: And security codes.

Where did this idea originate?

Barbara Keating: We used to do visa processing for the U.S. government, which is fairly involved.  So we cut our teeth on that and knew there could be an improvement beyond how the Americans have done it. That’s what we now offer to African governments. Lesotho was the pioneer.  We were looking at smaller countries. We wanted a place that could really test it out. They were the first to adopt, which is brave on their part. There were many people saying, ‘Let’s not try this.’  Now, it’s a success. I really applaud them.

Do you advertise this and let people know that Lesotho is a beautiful country?

T’sepiso Mosasane : Computer Frontiers are doing the advertising for us.

How does that work, Barbara?

Barbara Keating: If you need a visa for Lesotho, you have to come to their website and there you see it. We’ve also advertise in travel magazines and newspapers. We have people who are working with South Africa, which is key since [South Africa] totally surrounds Lesotho!

How much does it cost to get a Lesotho visa?

T’sepiso Mosasane : Single entry visa is $150; multiple entries, $250.

Isn’t that a little steep?

Barbara Keating : No, it’s actually not.  It’s right in line with others.

How long did it take to create this platform?

Barbara Keating: The contract was awarded on the 1st of February and we launched the 5th of May.

How did you get into this, Barbara, and how large is your staff?

Barbara Keating: We started as a USAID contractor and then moved to work with the private sector. Today, we have about 120 people throughout Africa, and in the United States another 10 or so. Our approach is different from other providers, because we come from a development background.  We don’t just bring technology and dump it, as did the former contractor.  We train and bring people up to speed and are there with them. That’s the way to do it. If we do well, we also make money.

How does e-visa help you manage immigration for your government?

T’sepiso Mosasane : With this, we know how many people have come into our country and which countries they are from – for what purpose that they came to our country and how long they stayed. This will help us plan what to anticipate, where to develop our infrastructure.

Barbara Keating: Also for security, we know exactly when visitors come in. We know when they’ve left. We know if they haven’t left.

Along with tourists, the e-visa web site talks about serving “business persons seeking investment opportunities in Southern Africa.” Can this platform serve the region as well as your country, Lesotho?

T’sepiso Mosasane : We are trying as SADC [South African Development Community] that anyone who wants to visit any country in the region should just have one visa.

What lesson would you want to share from this project?

T’sepiso Mosasane : We have an excellent platform that is working for us. When we entered into this agreement, we didn’t have the money to do it. Governments often don’t have money. It was the service provider [Computer Frontiers] that invested in this, and they will be recovering their money as the time is going. With partnerships like this one that we have with Computer Frontiers, we can go far.

While the Department of Home Affairs is committed to resolving an impasse over officials’ working times on Saturdays, one of the unions it is negotiating with has a simple message: “Call us only when you are ready to pay overtime. Until then, there will be no work on Saturdays!”

This is the message of the National Union of Public Service and Allied Workers (Nupsaw).

This is a long-standing dispute, which dates back to March 2015.

Unions objected to officials working on Saturdays, which according to them would effectively mean they were required to work six days a week instead of five.

“This, according to the unions, meant extra transport costs for officials spread over 6 days, to cover Saturdays, and costs incurred towards caring for members’ minor children, as well as leave allocation,” read a statement from the department, issued last Thursday.

Unions reject offer

The department indicated that it was not in a financial position to accede to this demand and proposed that officials be granted a day off on Wednesdays to ensure that they do not work a six day week.

“In this way, officials would not incur additional transport costs and would be able to make appropriate arrangements for child care like other staff working a 5-day shift per week. The compromise would ensure also that fears around allocation and calculation of leave days would be allayed – with no official affected by whether they did a 5-day or 6-day shift.

“This would further mean that officials would work a full day on a Saturday comprising an 8-hour shift. Officials would still work a total of 40 hours per week, in line with the laws of the Republic.”

The unions – Nupsaw, Public Servants Association of South Africa (PSA) and the National Education Health and Allied Workers’ Union (Nehawu) – all rejected the offer.

Negotiations continued this week.

On Thursday, Nupsaw released a statement saying, until the department was “ready to pay overtime, the employer’s status quo of voluntary work on Saturdays remains”.

“Following this, Nupsaw made it clear to the employer not to convene another meeting until they are ready to pay overtime that will be in line with the Basic Conditions of Employment Act.”

Negotiations continue

However, Bongiwe Gambu, spokesperson for Home Affairs Minister Hlengiwe Mkhize, said the negotiations between the department and the unions were still ongoing.

“We are hopeful that by the end of the week we can have a clearer direction. Both parties remain committed to resolving the impasse,” she said.

She said the aim was for the department to provide South Africans with the services to which they were accustomed.

She said that currently a roll call was done on which officials were available to work on each coming Saturday, meaning they could never predict if the offices would be open on a Saturday. The department would communicate shortly before the weekend if the offices would be open to the public on Saturday.

“We are mindful that some people can only visit the offices on Saturdays,” she said. She asked for the public’s patience and requested that they try and visit the offices from Mondays to Fridays.

Zimbabwe is considering legalising the production of cannabis for medical purposes to lure investors keen to grow the drug, a cabinet minister says.

Investment Promotion Minister Obert Mpofu says a Canadian firm has applied to the government for a permit to produce the drug, known locally as mbanje, in one of the country’s soon-to-be-set-up Special Economic Zones (SEZs).

Numerous inquiries

“We have received numerous inquiries from investors who want to participate in the SEZs and one of them is a big international company that wants to be involved in the production of cannabis,” Mpofu was quoted as saying by the state-run Sunday News.

Zimbabwe is in the process of setting up SEZs, initially in Harare, Bulawayo and Victoria Falls. The zones will offer investors incentives, including exemption from some provisions of the labour law and black economic empowerment rules.

Big business

Mpofu told the paper that he thought the Canadian firm, which he didn’t name, was joking when he first received an inquiry from them. That was before he realised that medical cannabis production was big business.

“This company is from Canada and it’s one of the biggest conglomerates in that country and they are producing cannabis for medical purposes under strict conditions,” he said.

Punishable by jail

“I don’t see anything wrong and I think if we legalise (production of) mbanje we will benefit medically because it is used for pain killers such as morphine,” he added.

Under Zimbabwe’s laws the possession or cultivation of cannabis is illegal, punishable by jail.

In 2015 a Harare man – who was found by police to be growing small quantities of marijuana at home, apparently to treat a rare bone ailment – was jailed for 12 months, according to The Herald.