- The Beitbridge Hotel in Zimbabwe, owned 40% by the National Social Security Authority (NSSA), has incurred over $2 million in losses since opening in 2014 and has now been closed by majority owner Rainbow Tourism Group. - An audit before construction found the hotel would be loss-making, but NSSA insisted it proceed anyway. NSSA's investments are under scrutiny as costs for the Beitbridge Hotel ballooned from an initial $3 million budget to over $49 million. - The closure puts focus again on NSSA's investment strategies that have put pensioners' funds at risk through apparent non-viable projects like the Beitbridge Hotel.

1. BH24 Reporters
HARARE – Zimbabwe Stock
Exchange-listed hospitality
group Rainbow Tourism Group
yesterday closed its three-
star Beitbridge Hotel due to
persistent loses, with the hotel
incurring losses of more than
$2 million since it started
operating in January 2014.
But the closure of the hotel
has again put the spotlight on
the National Social Security
Authority (NSSA)’s seemingly
spur-of-the-moment invest-
ment strategies, which have
placed pensioners’ funds at
risk.
According to an audit by
Deloitte Advisory Services
on the construction of the
Beitbridge Hotel last year
stated that feasibility study
conducted before the project
was initiated had indicated
that “that the hotel would be
loss-making.”
But NSSA – which has a 40
percent shareholding in RTG –
insisted on forging ahead with
the project despite its appar-
ent non-viability.
Efforts to get a comment from
NSSA chairman Mr Robin Vela
were fruitless as his mobile
went unanswered and eventu-
ally unavailable.
News Update as @ 1530 hours, Wednesday 01 June 2016
Feedback: bh24admin@zimpapers.co.zwEmail: bh24feedback@zimpapers.co.zw
NSSA’s bad investments under spotlight as Beitbridge Hotel flops

2. In closing down the hotel, RTG
said that major contributing
factors to the losses included
depressed occupancies, low
margins and high operating
costs.
“Operational costs of the hotel
were no longer sustainable.
Since opening in January 2014
the hotel has incurred losses
amounting to more than $2
million.
“The latest projections show
a declining market demand
and rate yield with strong
indications that the hotel will
continue to make losses into
the foreseeable future.
“This poor performance has
continued to weigh down the
overall performance of the
group,” RTG said in a state-
ment.
The Beitbridge Hotel was
constructed at an eventual
cost exceeding the initially set
budget of $3 million in 2007.
The initial budget for the pro-
ject had been pegged at US$3
million in 2007. The cost of
the project rose to $17 million
and then to $33 million, and is
believed to have been com-
pleted at cost of at least $49
million.
According to the Deloitte Advi-
sory Services audit report, one
of the main reasons why the
cost of the project inflated was
that NSSA was meeting some
of the contractor’s obligations.
Deloitte said the NSSA board
had in October 2014 said it
was aware of the exorbitant
overheads after the main con-
tractor, CZL, had failed to pay
workers and subcontractors,
forcing the authority to inter-
vene by directly paying the
workers and the subcontrac-
tors using pensioners’ funds.
The closure of the 140-room
hotel is just one of NSSA’s bad
investments over the years,
with the social security body
estimated to have
According to the Deloite
report, NSSA’s poor invest-
ments included money markets
investments to the tune of $34
million invested in distressed
financial institutions and
closed banks of which $11, 4
million did not have adequate
security.
Meanwhile, RTG says it had
made plans to ensure a seam-
less transition for its cus-
tomers, suppliers and service
providers.
“Of primary importance are
the staff affected by the
closure of Rainbow Beitbridge
Hotel, who have been offered
alternative employment within
the group,” it said.
RTG operated six hotel around
the country.
The closure of the hotel leaves
Beitbridge with no major hotel
after the closure of African
Sun’s Beitbridge Express Hotel
in February this year.
.●
2 NEWS

3. BH243

4. BH244

5. BH24 Reporter
HARARE - Former Chamber
of Mines Zimbabwe president
Mr Winston Chitando has been
appointed as the new chair-
man of the Hwange Colliery
Company (HCC) board.
He replaces Mr Jemister Chin-
inga who was acting chair-
man.
Mr Chitando is a seasoned
executive whose experience in
the mining sector spans close
to three decades.
He began his career in 1984
when he joined Anglo Amer-
ican Corporation as a gradu-
ate trainee based at Hwange
Colliery Company, where he
rose to the position of chief
accountant. For a total of 11
years, Winston worked for the
Anglo American Corporation
group.
During this period he rose
through the ranks to hold
various positions and director-
ships in a number of industrial
and mining companies which
were part of the Anglo Ameri-
can group.
At the time he left the group
to join Zimasco in 1997, he
held the position of divisional
commercial manager in the
Mining and Industrial Division.
From 1998 until September
2007, Winston was an exec-
utive director with respon-
sibility for Finance for both
Zimasco (Pvt) Ltd and Mimosa
Mining Company.
He at various periods also
held executive responsibil-
ity in Zimasco for sales and
North Dyke Mining during this
time. He was subsequently
appointed managing direc-
tor of Mimosa Mining Com-
pany effective October 1,
2007. In May 2013, Mimosa
restructured and Winston was
appointed to the position of
executive chairman of Mimosa
Holdings and Mimosa Mining
Company.
He also served as vice presi-
dent of the Chamber of Mines
of Zimbabwe from 2008 until
2011 and as president from
2011 to 2013.
The new Hwange chairman
continues to serve on the
Chamber of Mines executive
committee and is currently
chairman of the Platinum Pro-
ducers Association.
He sits on various other
boards including Zimbabwe
School of Mines where he
chairs the Audit Committee.
HCC has also announced the
appointment of past president
of the Association of Mine
Managers of Zimbabwe Mr
Wenceslaus Tarugarira Kutek-
watekwa and former Zim-
babwe Mining Development
Corporation (ZMDC) board
member Mrs Ntombizodwa
Masuku as a non-executive
directors.
The two replaced Messrs
Norman Chibanguza and Ian
Haruperi who both stepped
down as non-executive direc-
tors. Meanwhile, HCC released
a cautionary today in which
it said it is in the process
of engaging its creditors
come up with a “mutually
acceptable debt management
plan.”●
Chitando is new Hwange chairman
5 NEWS
Mr Winston Chitando

6. HARARE – Zimbabwe has a
friendly and secure invest-
ment climate, contrary to media
reports that portray the country
as a risky investment destination,
Canadian miner Caledonia Mining
Corporation has said.
Caledonia, which has been oper-
ating in Zimbabwe since 2006,
owns 49 percent of Gwan-
da-based Blanket gold mine.
Foreign Direct Investment into
Zimbabwe has been low over
the years owing to a number of
reasons including portrayal of the
country as an unsafe investment
destination by Western media.
But, in a statement, Caledonia
said the perceived risks were
non-existent and that security of
foreign investment was guaran-
teed.
“We believe that the Zimba-
bwe risk has been overplayed
considering the operating history
demonstrated by Caledonia,” the
company said.
“Repatriation of cash from
Zimbabwe has also never been
a problem for Caledonia and we
note that the change of refining
the gold with a requirement for
all Blanket’s gold to be refined
within Zimbabwe (which spooked
the market for a while back in
early 2014) has also passed off
without a hitch – Caledonia has
always been paid the correct gold
price and has always received its
cash for the sale on time.”
The company said it maintained
good relationships with all levels
of government and its indige-
nous partners after the ven-
dor-financed sale of 51 percent
of the mine in 2012. The sale of
the majority stake to indigenous
players was in compliance with
the indigenisation laws of Zim-
babwe.
“The mine operates well and is
doubling capacity through an
internally funded capital pro-
gram,” it said.
Zimbabwe has embarked on mas-
sive efforts to improve confidence
in the country’s economic envi-
ronment. Initiatives to improve
the ease of doing business are
also being implemented includ-
ing amending various laws that
have in the past hindered ease
of doing business.
Some of the laws being amended
include the Companies Act, Shop
licensing Act and the Procure-
ment Act. Government is also
aiming to reduce the days it
takes to register a business from
30 days to between 10 and 15
days.- New Ziana●
6 NEWS
Canadian miner endorses Zim investment climate

7. BH24 Reporter
HARARE-Pearl Properties
reported a12,7 percent increase
in profit for the four months to
April 30, 2016 mainly driven by
savings realised from manag-
ing administration costs by the
company during the period.
Despite an increase in profit,
the company’s revenue for
the period fell 5,12 percent to
$2,74 million from $2,9 million
in the prior period. Revenue
during the period included
rental income and property
services income.
Speaking during an annual
general meeting Pearl Proper-
ties managing director Fran-
cis Nyambiri said the market
remains very difficult but prop-
erty occupancy for company
increased. “The profit after
taxation we are looking at the
profit of $1,2 million which is
ahead of 2015 position of $1,1
million which is 12,87 percent.
“We have to work hard on the
administration costs after notic-
ing that they were not chang-
ing. Administration costs for
the four months are below the
2015 position by 3,78 percent
which have seen us having a
operation profit ahead of the
comparative period last year
of $1,4 million against $1,35
million in 2015,” he said. The
company’s property occupancy
for the period by 6,14 percent
from 77,84 percent last period
to 73,06 percent this quarter.
“The market remains very diffi-
cult in terms of revenue we are
below the comparative period of
2015 by 5,12 percent. Our rev-
enue driven by rental income
and rentals has been under a
lot of pressure during the past
four months,” he said.
Rental arrears for the period
was 0,83 percent below the
same period last year. He
added that property income is
1 percent ahead the compar-
ative period last year at $2,2
million against $2,18 million in
2015. The operating profit after
taking into account of financial
income and other dividends
was $1,46 million which is 8,85
percent ahead of the compar-
ative period last year of $1,34
million.
We have not done any revalu-
ation of investment properties
and there is no revaluation
adjustment of our properties.●
7 NEWS
Pearl properties profits up 12,7pc
02 03
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8. HARARE -The equities mar-
ket rebounded today after
the mainstream industrial
index added 0.04 to close
at 104.74 as three counters
gained ground.
Fidelity Life led the movers
with a $0, 0070 rise to trade
at $0, 1100, followed by tel-
ecoms giant Econet Wireless
which edged up $0, 0002 to
$0, 2300 while starafrica was
$0, 0001 higher at $0, 0085.
There were no trades in
the negative territory while
activity was limited to nine
counters.
The mining index was again
flat at 25.54 as nickel-pro-
ducer Bindura, Falgold,
Hwange and RioZim main-
tained previous price levels
at $0, 0120, $0, 0050, $0,
0300 and $0, 1610 respec-
tively.
. BH24 Reporter ●
Industrials rebound
8 ZSE

9. MOVERS CHANGE TODAY PRICE USC SHAKERS CHANGE TODAY PRICE USC
FIDELITY LIFE 6.79 11.00
STARAFRICA 1.19 0.85
ECONET 0.08 23.00
INDEX PREVIOUS TODAY MOVE CHANGE
INDUSTRIAL 104.70 104.74 +0.04 POINTS +0.04%
MINING 25.54 25.54 +0.00 POINTS +0.00%
9 ZSE TABLES
ZSE
INDICES
Stock Exchange
PREVIOUS
TODAY

10. 10 DIARY OF EVENTS
The black arrow indicate level of load shedding across the country.
POWER GENERATION STATS
Gen Station
01 June 2016
Energy
(Megawatts)
Hwange 302 MW
Kariba 285 MW
Harare 0 MW
Munyati 30 MW
Bulawayo 23 MW
Imports 0 - 400 MW
Total 1205 MW
2 JUNE -- Zimplow Annual General Meeting; Place: Zimplow Holdings Limited Head Office, 36 Birmingham Road, Harare;
Time: 10:00hrs
9 JUNE -- First Mutual Holdings Annual General Meeting; Place: Royal Harare Golf Club, Harare; Time: 14:30hrs
22 JUNE -- Lafarge Cement Zimbabwe Annual General Meeting; Place: Manresa Club, Arcturus Road, Harare; Time: 10:30hrs
30 JUNE -- African Sun Annual General Meeting; Place: Inyangani Room, ground floor at Holiday Inn Harare, Corner 5th
Street and Samora Machel Avenue; Time: 12:00hrs
THE BH24 DIARY

11. JOHANNESBURG - South
Africa's rand was a touch
firmer against the dollar
today, but was unlikely
to post significant gains
during the week as inves-
tors fretted about Friday's
credit rating review from
Standard & Poor's.
Stocks were set to open
softer, with the JSE secu-
rities exchange's Top-40
futures index down 0,5
percent from Tuesday's
close.
At 0650 GMT the rand
traded at 15,6900 to the
greenback, up 0,1 percent
from where it ended New
York trade overnight.
Traders said data on Tues-
day showing a trade sur-
plus for the second month
in a row had provided a
minor boost for the rand,
although the cumulative
balance for this year is in
deficit.
Another positive headline
for the currency this week
has been the conditional
approval for the world's
largest brewer Anheus-
er-Busch InBev to acquire
SABMiller, a deal which
should see dollars flow into
South Africa if it gets the
final nod from regulators.
But overall, investors are
likely to be jittery towards
South African assets ahead
of Friday's sovereign rating
review by S&P which could
result in a downgrade into
sub-investment grade.
"I therefore see no reason
to get uber-bullish on the
rand just yet because of
this (AB InBev) announce-
ment," Standard Bank forex
trader Warrick Butler cau-
tioned.
"I am in the watch and wait
camp," he added, predict-
ing a 15,60-15,90 trading
range for dollar/rand for
the day.
In fixed income, the yield
on the benchmark issue
due in 2026 dipped 1 basis
point to 9,38 percent. -
Reuters●
11
In rare compromise, Nigerian emerges
as frontrunner for OPEC boss
Rand edges up, but rating review poses risk
REGIONAL NEWS
VIENNA - A Nigerian oil
technocrat has emerged as
frontrunner to take the top
job at OPEC, with members
seeing Mohammed Barkindo
as what would be a rare
compromise candidate to
lead the group amid rising
tensions between Saudi Ara-
bia and Iran.
Barkindo has been a key
face of the Nigerian oil
industry for the past dec-
ade, during which various
governments tried and
effectively failed to reform
national oil company NNPC.
Today, Nigeria has along-
side Venezuela become one
of the main victims of oil's
price collapse, with the
country's output declin-
ing sharply due to militant
attacks on pipelines and
infrastructure.
OPEC is likely to choose
Barkindo, a former head of
NNPC, as the next secre-
tary-general of the producer
group, three sources with
knowledge of the matter
said.
The Organization of the
Petroleum Exporting Coun-
tries has since 2012 been
looking for a replace-
ment for Libya's Abdullah
al-Badri, who was elected
acting secretary-general in
December until the end of
July after serving full terms.
- Reuters●

12. Oil slipped a fourth day,
heading for the longest run
of declines since April, as
OPEC ministers gather in
Vienna ahead of a meeting
on Thursday to discuss pro-
duction policy.
Futures fell as much as 1,1
percent in New York, after
declining 0,9 percent the
previous three sessions.
Canadian oil-sand producers,
including Suncor Energy Inc.,
began resuming operations
after wildfire threats eased,
while supply disruptions
continued to reduce out-
put in Nigerian and Libya.
The global oversupply that
caused prices to slump since
2014 is correcting itself,
the United Arab Emirates oil
minister said in Vienna on
Tuesday.
Oil has surged about 85
percent since touching a
12-year low in February
on signs the global surplus
is easing amid declining
output. The Organisation of
Petroleum Exporting Coun-
tries is unlikely to reach an
agreement limiting produc-
tion this week as the group
sticks with Saudi Arabia’s
strategy of squeezing out
rivals, according to analysts
surveyed by Bloomberg.
“There is very low expec-
tations for anything con-
structive to come out of this
meeting,” Angus Nicholson, a
markets analyst in Melbourne
at IG Ltd., said by phone.
“The base-case scenario will
be a continuation of Saudi
Arabia’s recent announce-
ment where they refuse to
commit to any sort of supply
freeze if Iran is not party to
it.”
West Texas Intermediate for
July delivery fell as much
55 cents to $48,55 a barrel
on the New York Mercantile
Exchange and was at $48,66
at 8 a.m. London time. The
contract dropped 23 cents to
close at $49,10 on Tuesday.
Total volume traded was 20
percent below the 100-day
average.
Renewed Optimism
Brent for August settlement
fell as much as 1,3 percent
to $49,25 a barrel on the
London-based ICE Futures
Europe exchange. The July
contract expired Tuesday
after slipping 7 cents to
$49,69 a barrel. The global
benchmark crude traded at a
36-cent premium to WTI for
August.
UAE Oil Minister Suhail Al
Mazrouei’s comments -- the
first by an OPEC minister
this week ahead of their
meeting on Thursday --
suggest renewed optimism
among producers. He also
said on Twitter OPEC’s policy
of giving the market time to
balance itself has proven to
work but it still needs some
time. – Bloomberg●
12
Oil set for longest losing streak in 6 weeks before OPEC meeting
INTERNATIONAL NEWS

13. By Sandile Swana
There are two features of life
on the African continent that
are fundamentally deadly to
socio-economic development.
These are a lack of cleanli-
ness and punctuality.
There is plenty of discussion
on macro and micro econom-
ics and the big theories of
economic development, but
it seems the African world-
view is a primary problem.
It is opportune to discuss
more fundamental inhibitors
to economic development and
growth. This entails a funda-
mental change in how things
get done.
Other countries and conti-
nents have managed to make
serious advances in dramati-
cally improving cleanliness as
well as timeliness, which has
resulted in accelerated eco-
nomic development.
On the continent there are
two examples that show how
cleanliness and punctuality
can positively affect devel-
opment. The first is in the
Rwandan capital Kigali.
It is setting the pace in Africa
as one of the cleanest cities
and steadily one of the most
punctual. This is on a conti-
nent where both city cleanli-
ness and punctuality are rare.
When you look at African cit-
ies you see dirt, unkempt gar-
dens, unkempt fences, cha-
otic traffic. And these cities
run on "African time", itself a
discredited concept.
The other example is in SA,
where the government has
launched Operation Phakisa.
The initiative seeks to speed
up high-impact government
projects, signalling an emerg-
ing awareness of the need for
timeliness.
From my own experience of
working in various locations
across SA, there is still a
long way to go to improve on
cleanliness and punctuality.
Cleanliness speaks directly to
mortality and morbidity.
Timeliness speaks to the
pace and exactness at which
things get done, addressing
effectiveness and efficiency.
Cleanliness has at least two
clear advantages.
The first is that it protects
people from diseases. It
ensures good health, which
links to productivity, vitality
and longevity. The second
advantage is that it makes
localities more pleasant to
visitors, including tourists.
In the Western world the idea
and practice of a daily bath
and properly plumbed and
controlled sewage for the
majority of people only gained
traction in about 1850. This
improved health was accom-
panied by widespread eco-
nomic growth in the Western
world.
Japan achieved the same life
expectancy as the West at
the end of the 19th century,
although the country was
very poor economically. It
did so mainly through clean-
liness.
This change in culture
was then accompanied by
improvements in longevity. In
the West it was largely in the
wake of the industrial rev-
olution that the majority of
people were given meaningful
access to sanitation.
Thus, both Eastern and West-
ern culture have evolved.
This shows it is not inher-
ently European or Asian to be
clean. Cleanliness tends to go
with tidiness and orderliness,
which increases safety, health
and efficiency.
Well-organised cities have
13 ANALYSIS13 ANALYSIS
Eradicate the discredited idea of ‘African time’ to lift growth on the continent

14. 14 ANALYSIS14 ANALYSIS
planned suburbs, build-
ings and infrastructure. This
organisation reduces anxiety
and time being wasted. My
own experience bears this
out.
I have visited a number of
local towns in SA where the
general state of municipal
buildings signals a poor atti-
tude towards hygiene. This
is not particular to SA. It
is not uncommon anywhere
on the continent, from the
Cape to Cairo, to find dilap-
idated government build-
ings, uncontrolled sewers and
unmaintained private homes.
This shows infrastructure is
being allowed to go to waste
through lack of care.
Kigali is an exception to this
rule, although its government
appears to have used heavy-
handed tactics to achieve
its objectives. In SA, towns
such as Hermanus, Cape St
Francis and George are also
good examples. But these are
exceptions.
The other issue is punctu-
ality. Science and technol-
ogy cannot progress outside
measurement and precision. I
believe that attitudes need to
change to reflect the xiTsonga
saying "Mintirho ya vula vula"
(one’s work speaks, not just
words), with the addition that
your work must be punctual.
Embracing time and punctu-
ality across all of activities
leads to innovation, human
development, growth in gross
domestic product (GDP) and
more effective government.
This, in turn, fuels socioeco-
nomic development.
Again, my own experience
attests to this. It is not
uncommon in SA to visit a
town council by appointment
and spend two days at an
office without ever seeing the
official who made the appoint-
ment, nor a substitute. This
takes up unnecessary time
and requires spending extra
money — a night at a hotel
and food.
And recently I had to visit
Roodepoort, Pretoria and
Brakpan, to get charts that
South African labour law
requires to be displayed at a
workplace. In total, I invested
three days in this matter.
The idea that it should be
possible to download the
charts from the internet has
not yet crossed the minds of
those responsible for their
dissemination. Not doing so
increases the cost of doing
business and creates a waste
of time.
A lax attitude to using time
optimally also extends into
the social sphere. It is still
common to be invited to a
function in SA with notifica-
tion that says the starting
time is 6.30pm for 7pm.
This on its own encourages
laxity. On top of that, a great
many people generally believe
that functions typically get
going 30 minutes late, mean-
ing that 6.30pm for 7pm is
actually 6.30pm for 7.30pm.
Time for a change in atti-
tude
Ideas about hygiene and
punctuality can only become
part of how people in Africa
behave if leaders and intellec-
tuals start insisting on them,
both at work and socially.
Punctuality and cleanliness
are learnt behaviours. School-
children need to be exposed
to punctuality, accuracy and
tidiness in everything they
do.
Remember that Japan and
many Asians had to learn
punctuality.
Take the progress made in
timeliness in Japan. By 1900,
the country’s train timetable
was just a hint of more or less
the time a train might arrive.
Today Japan is very punctual
and precise.
It is time to jettison the
vague notion of African time.
And for Africa to clean up its
act. – BDLive●