adminCopac requires US$2m to host conference
Herald Reporters
Copac requires at least US$2 million to host the second all-stakeholders’ conference where 2 000 delegates are expected to
Royal Bank shuts down
Victoria Ruzvidzo and Martin Kadzere
ROYAL Bank has surrendered its licence amid revelations that the bank has been involved in serious abuse of depositors’ funds and is burdened by non-performing insider loans among a cocktail of operational irregularities.
It becomes the third bank to fall in as many months.
Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe senior division chief: Banking Licensing, Supervision and Surveillance Mr Norman Mataruka last night said onsite investigations by the central bank had unearthed gross irregularities indicating the bank was beyond redemption.
Royal, which was reissued with a licence two years ago had a capital base of US$1,9 million against the requisite US$12,5 million for commercial banks and cumulative losses of US$6 million to June 2012 rendered the bank insolvent.
“The surrender of the licence followed a Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe’s determination that Royal Bank was no longer in a safe and sound financial condition.
The institution has failed to maintain the prescribed minimum amounts of capital and reserves in violation of the Banking Act and has failed to conduct banking business in accordance with sound administrative and accounting practices and procedures, adhering to proper risk management policies,” said a statement issued by RBZ Governor Dr Gideon Gono last night.
Briefing journalists in Harare, Mr Mataruka described the banks’ shareholders and directors as unrepentant, abusing funds in the same manner that saw the bank collapse in 2004.
Declare water woes national disaster: Govt urged
Michael Chideme and Paidamoyo Chipunza
Government must declare water problems in cities and towns a national disaster following the outbreak of typhoid this week, an official has said.
Director of Epidemiology and Disease Control in the Ministry of Health and Child Welfare, Dr Portia Manangazira, said the declaration would help mobilise resources.
Her comments come as 30 more people in Harare and 26 others in Chitungwiza were affected by typhoid yesterday.
This brings to more than 220 the people affected by typhoid in the two municipalities since the beginning of the week.
Dr Manangazira said all local authorities were unable to provide enough water to residents.
A recent study by the national typhoid capacity assessment concluded that no council is providing more than 60 percent of potable water requirements.
“Most of the water treatment plants are old and in need of replacement,” said Dr Manangazira.
“Declaring the water situation a national crisis will assist in mobilising funding for upgrading the water and sewer plants.”
Dr Manangazira said Government was failing to force local authorities to provide water and sewer delivery mandate as espoused by the Public Health Act because the State was aware of the funding constraints.
She said every household should use aqua tablets and any other form of chlorification and exercise strict hygiene and always wash hands after use of the toilet and before consuming food.
At least 43 sewer treatment plants across the country have collapsed, resulting in raw sewer finding its way into water catchments.
Zimbabwe — When Caliban becomes a hero
The beauty about running a muscular column is that oftentimes you sting your opponents into an ungainly self-display. My bad friend Muckraker did just that this week. Stung by my exposé on duplicitous post-colonial white thinking, Muckraker warned The Herald against carrying such critical opinion on the white establishment.
The consequences are enormous, Muckraker helpfully intoned. “Oh bow-wow. So, if you are not a sharer (in the racialised Rhodesian economy), you will understand if a growing number of people who are sick of the racist posturing emanating from Manheru don’t want to place their
Now and again the guy operating the PA system played a classic from Lovemore Majaivana — ‘Badlala Njani’
In an era where our football has been confronted by some of its greatest challenges and our Warriors have lost their box-office appeal they now attract just 12 000 fans to their home matches, it was refreshing to be in a stadium where you would be reminded our national game wasn’t dying.IT never reached the heights scaled by Shakira, and her Waka Waka 2010 Fifa World Cup soundtrack, but in the City of Kings we danced to a captivating football sound last weekend. There was a distinct rhythm to the dance and it created images so beautiful it could only have been achieved by the incredible power of the most beautiful game the world has ever known.
Techies gear up for Jumpstart Challenge
Last year saw Zimbabwe’s first ever BarCamp which culminated into one of the country’s leading Internet Service Providers, Zimbabwe Online, putting in money and starting up the ZOL Startup Challenge that for the second year running will be making a comeback.
BarCamp is an international network of user-generated conferences focused around technology and the Web. They are open, participatory workshop-events, the content of which is decided by participants.
The first BarCamps focused on early-stage web applications, and were related to open source technologies, social software, and open data formats.
Nigeria’s Boko Haram kills 5 in new attacks
MAIDUGURI (Nigeria) — Suspected members of Islamist sect Boko Haram have killed at least five people in attacks on a police station, a local government office and a factory owned by Indians in the northeast city of Maiduguri, authorities said yesterday.Stella-Tanganda Nash Under-16 Netball finals get under way
Mbonisi Mabhena
TWELVE of the best netball teams will square off today in the national Stella/Tanganda Nash Under-16 netball finals at Mosi-oa-Tunya Secondary School in Victoria Falls.
Governor urges ICTs use in poverty fight
Gwanda Correspondent
MATABELELAND South Governor and Resident Minister Angeline Masuku has urged youths to take advantage of Information Communication Technology (ICT) and use it as a weapon to fight poverty.