A digital copy of the Business News 24 (30 June edition). Zimbabwe's premier business news free sheet published by the Zimpapers Newspapers Group (1980) Limited and available every week day from 1530hrs to give a summary of the day's business news.

1. News Update as @ 1530 hours, Monday 30 June 2014
Feedback: bh24admin@zimpapers.co.zwEmail: bh24feedback@zimpapers.co.zw
By Lynn Murahwa
HwangeCollieryCompanyLtd(HCCL)'s
shareholders have turned down the
company's proposed share option
scheme in what could be interpreted as
a victory for Nick van Hoogstraten who
once turned down the scheme.
Van Hoogstaten owns a 30 percent
shareholding in the company. Hwange
introduced a share option scheme in
2005 for a period of 10 years to 2014,
but in 2007 van Hoogstraten blocked
the scheme after workers had already
exercised their rights on the options
that year.
But a special business resolution at
today's AGM sought to recommend the
board of directors to approve compen-
sation to workers for monies paid for
the 2007 share option scheme. The
recommendation was, however, turned
down this morning.
Speaking to journalists after the AGM,
managingdirectorThomasMakoresaid
the resolution to refund the respective
2 315 beneficiaries a fair amount for
the shares that they paid for has been
denied by the HCCL shareholders as
they feel the share allocation was very
low and would be favourable to the
employees. “The share option scheme
dating back to 2007 which has been
long outstanding was not approved
by the shareholders. The share option
scheme was not approved because
shareholders feel share allocation hap-
pened after expiry date and that it was
very low and favourable to employees,”
said Makore
According to Makore, the company
owes a combined $32 million to
employees and creditors. “We are in
default of payments of salaries to staff
up to $19 million as well as creditors
that have taken us to court to the tune
of $13 million,” he said.
He said currently the company is oper-
ating with a negative working capital
and is attempting to pay off its debts.
“Wehaveanegativenetworkingcapital
which means our current liabilities are
exceeding our current assets. Another
issue is that we have a big interest
burden because of legacy debt. In the
past 24 months the company has paid
in excess of $35 million to service that
legacy debt,” he said.
Makore added that the large debt is
making it difficult for the company to
access credit lines from financial insti-
tutions but they are working to convert
Government debt into equity.
“Because of this legacy debt and our
negative working capital, financial insti-
Hwange shareholders turn down share option scheme

2. 2 NEWS
By Tawanda Musarurwa
Zimbabwe Stock Exchange-listed com-
posite financial house Zimre Holdings
(ZHL)'s shareholders have approved a
repurchase of its stock.
In terms of the share buyback the
maximum number of shares will not
exceed 10 percent of the company's
issued ordinary share capital.
ZHL chairman Benjamin Kumalo told
the company's AGM this afternoon that
it was in a strong financial position and
were expecting positive feedback from
the market in terms of the buyback.
"The company is in a strong financial
position and will in the course of busi-
ness be able to pay back its debts as
the assets of the company will be in
excess of its liabilities," he said.
Giving a trading update, management
says it is content with the performance
of the company in the first quarter of
the current year. Said group chief exec-
utive Albert Nduna:
"The group performed reasonably well.
For the three months period to March
31, 2014, the gruop recorded a Gross
Premium of $24 million which, though
9 perecnt below same period last year,
was within expectations. "Gross Pre-
mium for the regional businesses was
in line with budget and was ahead of
last year. Local Reinsurance business,
however, was below last year as it pur-
sues its strategy of writing colelctable
and profitable business," he said.
Nduna also said they are confident
of a "turnaround" in the fortunes of
agro-business, CFI Holdings.
"There are positive developments
in the status of some of its land and
efforts are underway to unlock value.
Capital raiosing initiatives coupled with
some internal re-organisations will see
value being created for shareholders in
the short-term,' he said.
Meanwhile, the AGM saw the share-
holders adopting the audited annual
financial statements for the year just
ended, re-election of the company's
directors and approval of the remuner-
ation of the directors and that of the
auditors for the past year. BDO Zimba-
bwe has been retained as auditors for
the current year. •
ZHL shareholders approve share-buyback
tutions view us as high risk therefore
when we discuss and negotiate credit
lines they are not favourable because
they see us as having a weak balance
sheet. “To address the legacy debt we
want to convert Government debt to
equity and that’s an initiative that is
being discussed with the Government
and we anticipate to should reach
agreement in the short term,” he said.
“The director’s remuneration of $476
352 for the year ending 31 December
2012 was not supported by the share-
holders.”
Currently HCCL is working on recapi-
talisation plans to boost productivity to
theirtargetof300thousandtonnesper
month. •

3. BH24

4. By Rumbidzayi Zinyuke
MobilenetworkoperatorTelecelZimba-
bwe is seeking $200 million to increase
its third generation (3G) network cov-
erage and grow subscriber base to 5,5
million by year end.
Telecel is the second largest operator in
Zimbabwe after Econet with more than
4,7 million connected subscribers and
2,35 million active subscribers.
Giving oral evidence to the parliamen-
tary portfolio committee on Commu-
nication, technology, postal and cou-
rier services, Telecel general manager
Angeline Vere said negotiations with
banks were already underway. “Our
network coverage is not where we
would want it to be so we are looking
at a further investment of $200 million.
This investment should take us to a 5,5
million subscriber network. our switch-
ing capacity at the moment is 5 million
and by the end of the year we should
be at 5,5 million. By end of year we are
anticipating that our active subscriber
base will be at 3,3 million. We are also
looking at increasing our 3G reach
work on our fibre optic connectivity is
progressing,” she said. She said Tele-
cel currently has 299 3G base stations
across the country and the company
would expand the 3G reach to more
centres not already covered while
working on the 4G network.She added
that mobile operators were losing reve-
nue to traffic thieves who re-route calls
to gadgets specifically created for that
purpose.
“These people buy sim cards from all
operators and use a system called a
Sim box which allows them to work as
a mobile operator. So when someone
calls from South Africa, instead of that
callgoingtoTelecel,itisdirectedtothat
Sim box first then rerouted to Telecel.
To us it reflects a local number calling
another local number so it is charged
at that rate and these people get to
keep the rest of the money that should
have been charged for international
calls,” she said. She said the individuals
involved were working with other unli-
censed operators in different countries
who helped them to steal traffic. “We
need to set up a taskforce that includes
the police and unmask these people
becausenotonlyaretheystealingfrom
mobile network operators but they are
also stealing from the country since
they do not pay any fees or taxes,” she
added.
Speaking on the issue of infrastruc-
ture sharing among operators, Vere
said Government should put in place
legislation that compels mobile phone
operators to share their infrastructure.
“Government should make it compul-
sory for us to share the infrastructure.
We feel it should be done on a com-
mercial basis where the person who
put up the infrastructure benefits more
from their investment but allows other
players to benefit from it as well,” she
said.
She added that companies were wast-
ing money importing the same equip-
ment which they can easily share on
agreed terms. “There is nothing stop-
ping us sharing infrastructure, the only
problem is that if we put a small tower
then the load on that tower will be too
much. •
4 NEWS
Telecel seeking $200m for network expansion

5. BH24

6. AdM-DI156506-
BH24

7. 7 NEWS
Norupiri re-elected ZNCC president
THE Zimbabwe National Chamber of
Commerce (ZNCC) president Hlan-
ganiso Matangaidze was last week
re-elected the chamber’s president for
another one year term.
His vice-president Davison Norupiri
was also re-elected as the chamber’s
vice president at the industrial body’s
annual general meeting in Victoria
Falls.
The ZNCC annual general meeting was
held before the business organisation’s
congress.
“As is the norm, normally the president
and vice president are nominated at
branch level for submission at national
level.AllthefourregionsnamelyMash-
onaland, Manicaland, Matabeleland
and Midlands unanimously re-elected
Hlanganiso Matangaidze as president
and Davison Norupiri as vice presi-
dent for another one year term,” said
Norupiri.
He said they would work towards
addressing issues that have been
tabled at the congress.
“We are going to engage the govern-
ment on issues of corruption and good
corporate governance.
We will keep on engaging the author-
ities on issues of education and come
up with Memorandum of Understand-
ing with tertiary institutions that we are
yet to sign the MoU with,” he said.
Norupiri said they would also address
issues of capacity utilisation for the
manufacturing sector and advocate
for policy consistence to attract foreign
direct investment.
He said ZNCC would also work with
government on the implementation of
the Zimbabwe Agenda for Socio-eco-
nomic Transformation (Zim-Asset).
This, he said, was in line with the con-
gress’ theme.
Commenting on their previous tenure
at the helm of ZNCC, Norupiri said: “It
has been challenging since the Gov-
ernment was realigning itself following
the end of the Government of National
Unity and coming out of elections.” ―
Chronicle •

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BH24

9. The equities market has started the
week on downward trend maintaining
last week's streak as only one counter
traded positively.
Today, the industrial index lost 0.52
points (or 0.28 percent) to close at
186.56 points.
Natfoods dropped 5 cents to close at
210 cents whilst Innscor and PPC went
down 2 cents each to trade 79 cents
and 225 cents respectively.
Fidelity Life eased 1.30 cents to 8.70
cents and CBZ shed a cent to trade at
13.50 cents.
In the positive giant telecoms Econet
picked up 0.10 cents to settle at 67
cents.
The value of trades was at $1.1 million,
boosted by trades in Econet, Innscor
and Fidelity.
The mining index also went down 0.39
points (or 0.63 percent) to close 61.32
points after Riozim traded at 20 cents.
Riozim had higher bid at 21 cents
before settling at 20 cents on today’s
session.
Bindura, Falgold and Hwange main-
tained previous trading levels. — BH24
Reporter •
9 ZSE REVIEW
Equities maintain bearish trend

10. The recent move by the Agricultural
Marketing Authority (AMA) to float $55
million bills to raise money to fund the
purchase of close to 250 000 metric
tonnes of grain for the 2013 to 2014
will come as a relief to producers who
have been struggling to sell their crop.
AMA is a statutory body established
in terms of an Act of Parliament (CAP
18:24) with a broad mandate to reg-
ulate the participation in production,
buying and processing of agricultural
products in Zimbabwe.
But what is its role exactly? Is it a
buyer? Is it a facilitator? AMA is on
record saying that it will use the $55
million to re-capitalise the Grain Mar-
keting Board (GMB) If this is the case,
then this is a positive to the extent that
the GMB has been facing financial con-
straints to purchase maize. This is key
since Zimbabwe is trying to build up its
Strategic Grain Reserve.
As at the beginning of the year, the
SGR is estimated to have had around
30,000 metric tonnes compared to
the 500 000Mt of maize required. The
Grain Marketing Board was only allo-
cated $96 million to boost the SGR
against a requested $355 million. But
then it is important to also appreciate
that grain is no longer a controlled
commodity, meaning that private play-
ers can purchase the maize crop.
What is the role of AMA in the selling
of maize to private buyers? Especially
as earlier this year, AMA established a
grain producer registry that formalises
and traces links between maize and
wheat commercial farmers to interna-
tional buyers. This grain producer reg-
istry acts as a conduit for farmers and
buyers of the crop annually much in
the same way as the Tobacco Industry
MarketingBoard.Thekeyquestionthat
comes to the fore is: is Zimbabwe cur-
rently producing enough of the maize
crop to be selling to outside buyers?
The 2013-2014 season saw Zimbabwe
producing 1,6 million tonnes of maize.
This is against the country's basic
annual requirement of between 1,8
million and two million metric tonnes
of maize annually to meet human and
livestock requirements. This means
that Zimbabwe is already in a deficit of
between 200 000 and 400 000 tonnes
of maize that needs to be supple-
mented by imports.
In view of the established grain pro-
ducer registry, there is no clarity on
whether the 250 000 tonnes of maize
that AMA is seeking to purchase
through the $55 million will all go to
the GMB, or whether some of it (or a
significantportion)willbepurchasedby
private, albeit foreign buyers.
Maize and is key crop in Zimbabwe and
considering that the country is not pro-
ducing enough there is need to curb its
externalisation. •
10 BH24 COMMENT
Need for clarity on AMA role in maize trade

11. BH24

12. Ghanaian Finance Minister Seth Terk-
per said food inflation will slow this
year as rains bring better harvests
and a natural gas project bolsters
economic growth in the fourth quar-
ter.
“We are coming out of the reces-
sion, the power situation is improv-
ing, cocoa is doing very well and gold
prices have stabilized,” Terkper said
yesterday in an interview in the cap-
ital, Accra.
Ghana’s first-quarter growth of 6.7
percent from a year earlier was below
target though “better than IMF pre-
dictions,” he said. The central bank of
Africa’s second-largest gold producer
has said it is ready to act to tame
price increases that are at a four-year
high.
The International Monetary Fund said
economic growth will ease this year
as investors worry about the plunge
in the cedi, power shortages and
inflation. Inflation quickened to 14.8
percent in May and produce prices
rose 33.1 percent. Moody’s Investors
Service cut Ghana’s credit rating to
B2 last week from B1, citing a rising
debt ratio, increasing financing costs
and vulnerability to external shocks.
The 30 percent decline in the cur-
rency against the dollar this year is
boosting the price of everything from
sugar to fuel.
The electricity and fuel shortages
plaguing the country will ease once
Ghana's gas processing plant begins
operations later this year, Terkper
said.
“The gas project is coming up and will
give us reliable and cheaper power
to boost productivity,” he said. ―
Bloomberg •
12 REGIONAL News
Ghana’s Terkper sees food inflation slowing as rains help crops
enjoy the CAIO ride!
Minister Terkper

13. 13 DIARY OF EVENTS
The black arrow indicate level of load shedding across the country.
POWER GENERATION STATS
Gen Station
30 June 2014
Energy
(Megawatts)
Hwange 518 MW
Kariba 750 MW
Harare 38 MW
Munyati 32 MW
Bulawayo 20 MW
Imports -50 MW
Total 1360 MW
30 June - TA Holdings 79th Annual General Meeting of the ordinary members Venue: Miti Room,
Sango Conference Centre, Cresta Lodge, Harare, Time: 1400 hours
30 June - ZIMRE 16th Annual General Meeting of members, Venue: NICOZDIAMOND Auditorium, 7th
Floor Insurance Centre, 30 Samora Machel Avenue, Time: 1230 hours
THE BH24 DIARY

14. BH24

15. 15 zse
ZSE
Movers CHANGE Today Price USc SHAKERS Change TODAY Price USc
Fidelity Life 25.00% 10.00 Edgars -5.38% 12.30
TA 14.28% 8.00 Econet -4.42% 66.90
Lafarge 1.61% 63.00 Meikles -0.54% 19.99
Mash 0.41% 2.42
Indices
Index Previous Today Move Change
Industrial 188.37 188.07 -1.29 points -0.68%
Mining 61.71 61.71 +0.00 points +0.00%
Stocks Exchange
Previous

16. BH24

17. 17 AFRICA StockS
Botswana 8,664.65 -11.96 -0.14% 12July
Cote dIvoire 246.37 +2.18 +0.89% 07Mar
Egypt 7,949.60 -75.68 -0.94% 06Mar
Ghana 2,370.33 +2.46 +0.10% 25June
Kenya 4,856.35 +10.75 +0.22% 26June
Malawi 12,662.47 +0.00 +0.00% 07Mar
Mauritius 2,074.51 -3.51 -0.17% 07Mar
Morocco 9,544.10 +21.01 +0.22% 07Mar
Nigeria 41,729.59 -257.96 -0.61% 26June
Rwanda 131.27 +0.00 +0.00% 24Oct
Tanzania 2,018.97 +25.40 +1.27% 07Mar
Tunisia 4,624.39 -39.32 -0.84% 07Mar
Uganda 1,503.90 +0.81 +0.05% 10Sep
Zambia 4,242.74 +14.95 +0.35% 10April
Zimbabwe 188.37 -1.22 -0.64% 26June
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 —"Opportuni-
ties multiply as they are
seized." - Sun Tzu
Globalshareholder.com

18. BH24

19. China's top banks accounted for almost
one-third of a record $920 billion of
profits made by the world's top 1000
banks last year, showing their rise in
power since the financial crisis, a sur-
vey showed on Monday.
China's banks made $292 billion in
aggregate pretax profit last year, or 32
percent of the industry's global earn-
ings, according to The Banker mag-
azine's annual rankings of the profits
and capital strength of the world's big-
gest 1,000 banks.
Last year's global profits were up 23
percent from the previous year to their
highest ever level, led by profits of $55
billion at Industrial and Commercial
Bank of China (ICBC). China Construc-
tion Bank, Agriculture Bank of China
and Bank of China filled the top four
positions.
Banks in the United States made
aggregate profits of $183 billion, or 20
percent of the global tally, led by Wells
Fargo'searningsof$32billion.Banksin
theeurozonecontributedjust3percent
to the global profit pool, down from 25
percent before the 2008 financial crisis,
the study showed. Italian banks lost
$35 billion in aggregate last year, the
worst performance by any country.
Banks in Japan made $64 billion of
profit last year, or 7 percent of the
global total, followed by banks in Can-
ada, France and Australia ($39 billion in
each country), Brazil ($26 billion) and
Britain ($22 billion), The Banker said.
The magazine said ICBC kept its posi-
tion as the world's strongest bank,
based on how much capital they hold
- which reflects their ability to lend on a
large scale and endure shocks.
China Construction Bank jumped to
second from fifth in the rankings of
strength and was followed by JPMor-
gan, Bank of America and HSBC.
ICBC, which took the top position last
year for the first time, was one of four
Chinese banks in the latest top 10.
Wells Fargo has this year jumped to
become the world's biggest bank by
market value, after a surge in its share
price on the back of sustained earnings
growth. Its market value is $275 bil-
lion, about $75 billion more than ICBC.
The Banker said African banks made
the highest returns on capital last year
of 24 percent - double the average in
the rest of the world and six times the
average return of 4 percent at Euro-
pean lenders. ―Reuters •
19 INTERNATIONAL NEWS
Global bank profits hit $920 billion as Chinese lenders boom

20. An opportunity has arisen to enable HelpAge Zimbabwe to facilitate the
implementation of the Rural WASH project, to improve water, sanitation and hygiene
in Bubi District
1. Carry out an assessment of the WASH related health risks and needs within - General Bookkeeping- Cash book and petty cash management
the targeted population and make recommendations for actions which are - Order and control office stationery
consistent with agreed guidelines and protocols. - Liaise with project staff in procurement and maintenance of project stocks
2. In conjunction with the local authority and relevant government departments records
make recommendations regarding HelpAge Zimbabwe response to unmet - Preparation of Donor Financial reports
needs. - Bank reconciliations
3. Facilitate the implementation of SafPHHE in conjunction with the WASH - Filing all office documents
officer and/or other stakeholders. - Financial and programmes reports, vouchers, program and office meetings
4. Involve affected populations in assessment of the situation and in planning minutes
activities and the design of water and sanitation facilities. - Monitoring and securing adherence to organization and donor administrative
5. Identification and training of ward based SafPHHE facilitators and health club processes
facilitators. - General Office Administration
6. Write regular reports adhering to HelpAge Zimbabwe and donor reporting
formats as required.
- Degree in Accounting or equivalency and/or accounting
- Computer knowledge
1. Degree in Environmental Science or other relevant qualification
- Knowledge in Pastel/accounting package
2. Knowledge of public health and one or more other relevant areas (e.g. health
- Skills to manage own work and meet deadlines
promotion, community development, education, community water supply).
- Clean Class 4 driver's licence
3. The post holder should have at least two years` practical experience in
appropriate community health programmes.
4. Experience and understanding of community mobilisation in relation to water
Send CV and an application letter to info@helpage.co.zwand sanitation activities.
Deadline for application 30th June, 2014.5. Sensitivity to the needs and priorities of disadvantaged populations.
6. Demonstrated experience of integrating gender and diversity issues into
public health promotion.
7. Good oral and written reporting skills.
8. Good communication skills and ability to work well in a team.
9. Ability to work well under pressure and in response to changing needs.
10. Ability to travel at short notice and to work under difficult circumstances
11. Good written and spoken English and Ndebele are essential.
2. Vacancy: Administration Assistant
Station: Bubi District
Key Result Areas Job Description
Qualifications and Person Specification
SKILLS AND COMPETENCIES
To Apply
- 2 years` experience in office administration
1. Vacancy: Participatory Health and Hygiene Education Officer
TLM-DI159207-T26
Two vacancies have arisen in HelpAge Zimbabwe.
BH24

21. By Bhekinkosi Ngubeni
After what seemed like a lifetime,
South Africa's Association of Mine
workers and Construction Unions suc-
cessfully negotiated a settlement with
employers promising to triple entry
level mining wages over the next 3
years. On paper, the happy ending
should boost household spending but
the reality suggests otherwise.
The award is the making of an imper-
fect labour market. Salary shocks
naturally imply a lower rate of return
for investors prompting them to look
elsewhere for profitable projects and
South's Africa neighbours, including
Zimbabwe, can take advantage of
labour price inflexibility.
Inthepast,posttheSecondWorldWar,
a similar wage dispute scenario was
observed in 1946. Capitalists (FDIs)
scared by the possibility of high wages
formed the basis of a massive out-
flow of capital as investors looked for
alternative outlays away from the then
Union of South Africa.
Interestingly, this action directly ben-
efited Rhodesia. From about 1947,
funds earmarked for SA were rechan-
neled to Zimbabwe. The upshot was a
remarkable increase in the number of
Zimbabweans in gainful employment.
Workers doubled within 10 years from
377,000 in 1947 to 676,300 by 1956.
Fastforward2014,amatchingscenario
is developing. Notwithstanding the
tragic events in Marikana and South
Africa's ill-famed inequality rates, a
200% increase in remuneration has a
negative impact not only on the min-
ing sector but right through SA's labour
market wage dynamics. It sets a toxic
precedent; workers across all sectors
will certainly be encouraged to make
similar demands.
Key rating agencies S&P and Fitch sub-
sequently downgraded South Africa's
economic outlooks and credit worthi-
ness following recent events. In the
past, I made the same point on Zim-
babwe's civil servant wage demands ,
highlighting the hazards of unsustaina-
ble pay demands.
Enter Zimbabwe; there is a real pos-
sibility of a future re-enactment of
the above in regards to transferable
events. Zimbabwe today is a different
animal altogether but recent develop-
ments coupled with increasing benefi-
ciation costs in South Africa - Zimba-
bwe's platinum reserves are closer to
the surface, hence cheaper to mine
- mean investors might be forced to
revise portfolio allocations. The prevail-
ingconditionscouldpossiblyaltercredit
flows towards Zimbabwe.
In light of this, the government should
actively flash its natural resource cleav-
age to the highest bidder. Indigenisa-
tion has been effectively watered down
intoapublic-privatepartnership.Inves-
tors will be allowed to recover their ini-
tial capital investment, an appropriate
return on investment and operational
costs before the sharing of produc-
tion outputs or profits de-risking, to a
degree, the nation's risk profile.
I am cheer-leading and encouraging
more wage action preventing the effi-
cientallocationofcapitalinSouthAfrica
for the sole reason that Zimbabwe will
be the ultimate beneficiary.
Of the various factors of production,
labour is the largest. The wage differ-
ential between the two countries within
the mining sector is one that is to be
fully exploited. Apart from wages, addi-
tional extraction of wealth from the
private sector would come in taxes
and rents. A competitive labour mar-
ket, one that is self-regulating and free
from excessive labour union distortions
will drastically improve current liquidity
challenges. - NewZimbabwe
• Bhekinkosi Ngubeni is qual-
ified economist, email him on
bheki213@yahoo.co.uk •
21 Analysis
SA's wage rise a sneaky win for Zimbabwe

22. Now Mobster is absolutely fas-
cinated by the passive nature of
Zimbabwean investors.
They are the quintessential 'yes-
men'. Now Mobster is just com-
ing from one company's annual
general meeting and cannot quite
bring together the timidity, nerv-
ousness and depression of the
top table as they outlined the
"bright" prospects of the compa-
ny's future.
Something was just not tallying
there. If Mobster was a share-
holder in this company she would
have surely asked the manage-
ment if they themselves were
convinced of what they were say-
ing. Zimbabwe must be a great
place to do business if you are in
the upper echelons of manage-
ment. What with all these fawn-
ing affirmations of a million syc-
ophants.
Now an AGM has several pur-
poses, but it offers a great oppor-
tunity for the shareholders to ask
any questions regarding the direc-
tion(s) the business will take in
the future. So it's certainly amaz-
ing how 'shareholders', let's use
the word 'investors' are made to
swallow drivel wholesale.
Then there was this other AGM
where a clearly tired old man, as
close to his death bed as imagi-
nably possible without actually
being on it, queried why the com-
pany was not declaring a dividend
having finally posted a profit after
so many years. Having received
the unimposing response that the
company needed to re-capital-
ise for the 'future', the old man
uneasily sat back in his chair,
shaking with anger. The only thing
the old man could have said for
his point to hit home was: "whose
future?" As all other resolution
went unquestioned, the time soon
came that the company's share-
holders were now being called
upon to approve the stalling of a
dividend.
Mobster thought the old man
would be among the brave few
that would 'nay' the decision. But
alas, his hand was the first one up
to second the motion.
Aren't we just an extra-accommo-
dating people? Ok, maybe Mob-
ster doesn't understand this busi-
ness stuff, she should just stick to
her philosophy.
Mobster used to wonder why Zim-
babwean companies both in the
public and private sectors seem to
lack innovation and ideas.....not
anymore.
(Mobster is a Zimbabwean phi-
losopher who has an opinion
on just about anything. She
however has a particular liking
for business and economics
stuff. However her opinions
are not necessarily represent-
ative of this platform. You can
send your feedback to her on
mobsterzim1980@gmail.com)
•
22 MOBSTER’S MONDAY MUSINGS
Zimbabwe's yes-men