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Zimbabwe Plans a New City for the Rich

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BY RAY NDLOVU & ARCHANA NARAYANAN

Zimbabwe’s political leaders have a remedy for the collapse of the capital Harare: Build a new “cybercity” with as much as $60 billion of other people’s money.  

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The development in Mount Hampden, 11 miles northeast of Harare, is slated to be the site of the national parliament, headquarters of the central bank, the high and supreme courts, mineral auction centers, a stock exchange, a presidential palace and luxury villas.

“Mount Hampden is the new Harare,” said Shaji Ul Mulk, the billionaire who is backing it, adding that he’s investing $500 million to get started on a project that he believes will ultimately cost $60 billion and resemble Dubai, where he lives. “The parliament building has already been built there and all the ministers are moving there.” A brochure depicts pristine walkways, towering high rises and shining malls — all to be shared by a multiracial coterie of well-heeled residents. Plans also call for a solar plant, an important draw for a country currently experiencing 19-hour daily power cuts, and the use of blockchain technology. Digital asset accounts will be permitted.

That’s a world apart from Harare, which in two decades has transformed from a well-maintained city into what it is today: an urban sprawl riddled with potholes where refuse is rarely collected, electricity supply is more often off than on and many suburbs and townships have had no reliable running water for years. Commercial buildings  have just 40% occupancy, and the city center is overrun with street vendors.

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The planned development in Mount Hampden reflects “a ruling elite preoccupation not to interrupt their lives by having to see dirt and poverty,” said Stephen Chan, a professor of world politics at the School of Oriental and African Studies in London. In 2005, Zimbabwe’s leaders cleared slums and informal businesses in cities with earth-moving equipment in a program called Operation Murambatsvina, which means “move the rubbish” in the Shona language, displacing 2.4 million people. 

 

Now, rather than attempting to address underlying issues, officials are opting to move the capital entirely.To critics, it’s just the latest attempt by Zimbabwe President Emmerson Mnangagwa to revive a national economy that’s all but collapsed. The 80-year-old has traversed the world since taking power in a coup in 2017 trying to woo investment. To date he’s had little success. About $30 billion of projects ranging from mines to abattoirs have been announced, with little actually taking place on the ground despite promises of almost immediate development. The economy is fragile, with a chronic lack of foreign currency making it hard for major construction projects to move forward. Zimbabwe’s currency has plunged, interest rates are the world’s highest and annual inflation is 244%.

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Still, Mnangagwa is undeterred.

The president laid the foundation stone for the project on July 20, saying it was a testament to his ability to attract funding. Mnangagwa’s government is not the only one to dream of building state-of-the-art cities from scratch. Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman has a $500 billion plan for a futuristic city called Neom , and Indonesia’s President Joko Widodo is pushing the construction of a new capital known as Nusantara at an estimated cost of $34 billion.

Still, for Zimbabwe, roiled by economic and political turmoil over the last two decades, the challenges are huge. The country can’t earn enough foreign exchange to fund the imports of food and fuel it needs and is locked out of international capital markets because it can’t service $13 billion in external debt.

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There is a concerning lack of detail on terms for the investments in Mount Hampden, and no plans have been presented to Zimbabwe’s parliament for approval, said Tendai Biti, a leading opposition member and former finance minister. 

“They are busy mortgaging Zimbabwe,” he said of the government.

The development has attracted the interest of China, whose ties with Zimbabwe date back to its support for the African country’s liberation struggle in which Mnangagwa fought. China built the new parliament building in Mount Hampden at a cost of $140 million as a gift to Zimbabwe. It was officially opened on Nov. 23 by Mnangagwa. His Finance Minister, Mthuli Ncube, delivered the 2023 national budget there the following day.Local Government  Deputy Minister Marian Chombo, whose department oversees municipalities, said in a response to written queries that the “cybercity” is attracting interest from commercial, retail and industrial investors without naming them. Ul Mulk said Zimbabwe’s largest bank, CBZ Holdings Ltd. has made $100 million in financing for the development available. CBZ declined to comment.

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The development offers investors a five-year holiday from paying company tax, a lower income tax burden for workers and expedited immigration permits for foreign staff, according to the brochure that contains quotes from and photographs of Mnangagwa.

At least 12% of 250 luxury villas to be built in an initial stage have already been bought in advance, according to Ul Mulk. He provided no further details on the identity of the buyers but said the development is aimed at providing housing costing more than $500,000 a unit. Zimbabwe’s annual per capita income is $1,737, according to the World Bank, the development goes ahead, Harare is likely to face further declines. The city was founded in 1890 as Salisbury by the Pioneer Column, a group of mercenaries sent north by South Africa-based businessman and politician Cecil John Rhodes’ British South Africa Company to conquer an area assumed to be rich in gold. It was built to cater for a population of 200,000 White settlers but today houses 1.6 million people. Infrastructure and services haven’t kept pace. 

“Refuse has remained uncollected for months,” said Andrew Mushonga, 38, a Harare resident in Waterfalls, a middle-class suburb 26 miles south of Mount Hampden. “There are pools of water everywhere as the drains are blocked. The roads are potholed. The water coming out of taps is smelly.”

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Local residents closer to the planned development woke up one day to find a billboard along Old Mazowe road, which runs north-west of Harare, marking the site of the new capital, including a mall near their brick houses.  Much of the 13,000 hectares (32,124 acres) set aside for the development have been cleared with just one green-roofed house still standing. The property’s owner declined to comment.

But even with that ground now bare, there is still doubt the development will ever progress.

“It would be a bubble, an anomaly in a country where most face infrastructural degeneration,” said Chan, the London professor. “It’s unlikely, even in a country with the warped priorities of Zimbabwe, ever to be built.”

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Jamaica reigns supreme as South Africa and Botswana athletes fall short in dramatic 100m showdown

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BY TIMES LIVE

Jamaica returned to the top of the 100m podium at the world championships in Tokyo on Sunday, but South Africa — even with two dogs in the fight — missed out yet again.

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Gift Leotlela finished fifth in 9.95 sec and veteran Akani Simbine ended seventh in 10.04 while Oblique Seville clocked a 9.77 personal best to become the first Jamaican to win the global 100m crown in 10 years after Usain Bolt at Beijing 2015.

His countryman, Olympic silver medallist Kishane Thompson, was second in 9.82 and brash American Noah Lyles, the Olympic and defending champion, third in 9.89.

The final featured two Jamaicans, two Americans and two South Africans, but it was the two traditional powerhouses that dominated the podium.

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Looked at another way, the final had four men from the Americas against four Africans, and with Kenny Bednarek ending fourth, it was the men from the Americas who took the first four spots.

Letsile Tebogo of Botswana, the Olympic 200m champion and the 100m silver medallist from Budapest 2023, was disqualified for a false start. Nigerian Kayinsola Ajayi was sixth in 10.00.

Yet, had Leotlela repeated the 9.87 he ran in the heats on Saturday he would have taken third. Still, the 27-year-old, who has struggled with injuries for much of the past four years, can be happy with three consecutive sub-10 runs at the showpiece.

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But Simbine, who took the 60m bronze at the world indoor championships in March, looked as if he had mistimed his season.

He went on the indoor circuit early in the year in a bid to improve his start, which meant sacrificing an important training block that he subsequently switched to June and July.

The 31-year-old was on fire before the break, but since returning he never looked sharp.

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He’s competed in seven major 100m finals — three Olympics and four world championships — and never reached a podium. Having previously finished fourth or fifth, this was also his worst finish in a final.

In the semifinals earlier, just like it happened at the Olympics on the same track four years ago, Simbine had to wait to find out if he had won a spot in the final after finishing third in the first heat in 9.96.

Only the first two of the three heats advanced automatically, with the two fastest losers going through.

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Leotlela ended third in the final semifinal in 9.97.

But still, two South Africans in the final should augur well for the 4x100m relay next weekend.

The only other South African in a medal race on the day, Adriaan Wildschutt, didn’t have the kick at the tail end of a slow 10,000m, crossing the line in 28 min 59.47 sec to finish 10th to match his position at last year’s Paris Olympics.

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Frenchman Jimmy Gressier won a sprint finish in 28:55.77, ahead of Ethiopian Yomif Kejelcha (28:55.83) and Andreas Almgren of Sweden (29:56.02).

Earlier, Zakithi Nene, the fastest man over 400m in the world this year with his 43.76 from May, won his heat in 44.34 to advance to Tuesday’s semifinal.

But American Jacory Patterson, No 2 on the list, threw down the gauntlet by jogging over the final metres of his heat to clock the fastest time of the heats, 43.90.

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Khaleb McRae, the second of three American qualifiers, was second quickest in the heats in 44.25.

Then came Nene, and behind him lurk other dangermen, like Botswana’s Bayapo Ndori (44.36) and Rusheen McDonald of Jamaica (44.38), who limped off the track.

Countryman Lythe Pillay delivered a solid performance to advance to the semifinals with a 44.73 season’s best, finishing second in his heat behind Jereem Richards of Trinidad and Tobago, fourth at last year’s Olympics.

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But with the US getting four men into the next round and Botswana and Britain three, the South African 4x400m team will have their work cut out next weekend to make the relay podium.

Miranda Coetzee and Shirley Nekhubui failed to advance beyond the women’s 400m heats and Brian Raats was unable to clear the bar in the qualifying round of the men’s high jump.

SOURCE| TIMES LIVE

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Econet unveils new home and business data packages

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BY NOKUTHABA DLAMINI 

Econet Wireless Zimbabwe has launched new ‘Smart-Suite’ Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) data packages consisting of six plans tailored to address the data needs of different customers – from the ‘SmartLite’ plan, offering 50GB of data (best for light users) and retailing for $30, to ‘SmartPro’, offering 800GB of data (ideal for established SMEs) and retailing at $170.

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In between are ‘SmartPlus’, offering 75GB at $40 (targeting families); ‘SmartMax’, offering 100GB at $50 (ideal for bigger homes and freelancers); ‘SmartFlex’, offering 200GB at $70 (tailored for flexible scaling and small offices) and ‘SmartUltra’, offering 400GB at $99 (suitable for heavy, multi-users and SMEs).

Introducing the SmartSuite packages on multiple media channels, Econet said the new data packages will be easy to upgrade and will offer flexible plans “that grow with your needs”.

To ensure optimized and stable performance within a customer’s premise and network coverage area, the new packages will be geo-locked to a customer’s location, and accessible using a 4G or 5G CPE (customer premises equipment) router.

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Geo-locking – a term used to describe the restriction of access to a product or service to a specific geographical location – ensures customers get the best possible usage experience while enabling service providers like telcos and Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to ringfence critical resources such as bandwidth, making certain they are utilized by the intended users.

Econet said the SmartSuite packages will be available through its Econet Shops across the country where the company enjoys the largest network coverage, adding that CPE routers will also be available for sale in its shops – starting from US$48 per unit. The company noted though that customers will be free to use their existing CPEs, or to purchase CPEs anywhere elsewhere, as long as they were compatible with Econet’s SmartSuite product specifications.

Econet, which is the largest mobile network operator in Zimbabwe, enjoys the widest 4G (LTE) network coverage in the country. With 300 5G base stations deployed in the country’s major cities and towns, it is by far the market leader in 5G technology in Zimbabwe.

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The launch of the new SmartSuite packages follows a notice to customers of the former SmartBiz packages from Econet a month ago, notifying them that it would soon launch new data packages offering more choice and flexibility, and tailored to different customer needs.

Customers registered to the old SmartBiz service and who already have a CPE, can simply dial *143, choose a package of their choice and credit their new SmartSuite package. New subscribers to the SmartSuite packages will however need to buy a new SmartSuite SIM from an Econet Shop, as well as a CPE, for them to be able to connect to the new packages. If they own a CPE that meets Econet’s specifications, they will be able to use it for their SmartSuite package.

Along with the new SmartSuite data packages, Econet continues to offer its all its customers the choice of a wide range of mobile data products, accessible ‘on the go’ throughout the country via the customer’s mobile device or smartphone.

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In the community

Population Services Zimbabwe to offer free family planning services in Nkayi

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 BY WANDILE TSHUMA 

Population Services Zimbabwe (PSZ) is set to provide free family planning services in Nkayi District from next week

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The initiative which will run from 15-18, aims to enhance access to comprehensive reproductive health care and empower individuals and couples to make informed choices regarding family planning.

The outreach will kick off on Monday, September 15, at the Sivalo Rural Health Centre (RHC) and its outreach site. This will be followed by activities at various locations each day:

Tuesday, September 16:
Jabulisa at 9:00 AM
Ngabayide at 2:00 PM
Wednesday, September 17:
Sebhumane at 9:00 AM
Nesigwe RHC at 10:00 AM
Thursday, September 18:
Mateme RHC at 9:00 AM
Sembeule at 10:00 AM

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The services offered during this campaign include:

Loop insertion and removal
Implant insertion and removal
Depo Provera injections
Secure and control pills
Emergency contraceptive pills
Counselling on reproductive health issues

 

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