Category: News Feeds

Malcom
Masarira,
better
known
as
Traore,
has
gained
a
large
online
following
for
his
outspoken
support
of
Vice-President
Constantino
Chiwenga’s
presidential
ambitions.

He
is
now
facing
several
charges,
including
inciting
violence
and
attempting
to
undermine
a
constitutional
government.

According
to NewsDay,
sources
close
to
the
investigation
said
Masarira
was
caught
in
a
sting
operation
involving
his
close
friend,
Lovemore
Thomson,
also
known
as
“Shorty”,
who
allegedly
used
the
US$10,000
as
bait.

Masarira
is
currently
being
held
at
Harare
Central
Police
Station.

It’s
understood
that
Thomson
arranged
to
meet
Masarira
in
Harare,
which
led
to
the
activist
revealing
his
home
address.

He
was
later
arrested
after
reportedly
going
on
a
spending
spree
in
the
capital.

Thomson,
however,
has
denied
the
claims,
insisting
he
played
no
role
in
setting
up
his
friend
and
knows
nothing
about
the
alleged
trap.
He
said:

“I
am
told
there
are
people
who
are
saying
I
was
given
US$10
000.
They
just
want
to
tarnish
my
image,
these
are
dogs.
I
am
not
a
bogus
person.
I
cannot
defend
myself
now
because
they
just
want
to
tarnish
my
image.”

National
police
spokesperson
Commissioner
Paul
Nyathi
confirmed
Masarira’s
arrest
but
said
he
could
not
share
more
details.

Masarira,
who
recently
returned
to
Zimbabwe
from
South
Africa,
once
contested
in
the
ZANU-PF
primary
elections
for
the
Chikanga
constituency.
He
has
since
taken
to
social
media
to
rally
support
for
his
political
cause.

His
campaign
for
Vice-President
Constantino
Chiwenga
to
succeed
President
Mnangagwa,
run
under
the
“General
Chiwenga
for
President”
banner,
has
gained
thousands
of
followers
online.

The
group
said
the
ruling
party’s
resolution,
adopted
at
its
22nd
Annual
National
People’s
Conference
held
in
Mutare
recently,
poses
a
grave
threat
to
constitutional
democracy
and
signals
a
deepening
authoritarian
turn.

Zanu
PF’s
resolution,
identified
as
Resolution
Number
1,
seeks
to
extend
President
Mnangagwa’s
current
presidential
term
beyond
its
constitutional
limit
set
to
end
in
2028.

According
to
the
party’s
legal
secretary
and
Justice
Minister
Ziyambi
Ziyambi,
the
Ministry
of
Justice
was
directed
to
fast-track
the
necessary
constitutional
amendments
by
October
2026.

If
passed,
this
amendment
would
effectively
cancel
the
2028
election,
possibly
stretching
the
current
administration
and
President
Mnangagwa’s
second
term
to
2030.

Ibhetshu
LikaZulu
Secretary
General,
Mbuso
Fuzwayo,
said
Zimbabweans
have
a
legal
and
moral
duty
to
defend
the
2013
Constitution
from
manipulation
by
political
elites.

“This
naked
attempt
to
manipulate
the
Constitution
represents
an
assault
on
Zimbabwe’s
democracy
and
a
betrayal
of
the
aspirations
of
millions
who
sacrificed
for
a
democratic,
accountable
and
prosperous
Zimbabwe,”
said
Fuzwayo,
as
Ibhetshu
LikaZulu
joins
other
civic
movements
who
are
concerned
about
Zanu
PF’s
apparent
intent
to
rewrite
the
Constitution
for
political
expediency.

Fuzwayo
said
Zimbabwe’s
2013
Constitution,
adopted
through
a
people-driven
process,
was
not
meant
to
be
used
as
a
political
tool
to
perpetuate
one
leader’s
stay
in
power.

“The
Constitution
of
Zimbabwe,
adopted
in
2013
through
a
people-driven
process,
clearly
limits
presidential
terms
to
two.
Any
attempt
to
amend
this
sacred
provision
through
a
partisan
parliamentary
vote
undermines
the
sovereign
will
of
the
people
and
erodes
constitutionalism,
the
very
foundation
of
democratic
governance,”
he
said.

“Such
a
move
is
not
only
legally
questionable
but
morally
reprehensible.
It
turns
Parliament
into
an
instrument
of
authoritarian
consolidation
rather
than
a
guardian
of
the
people’s
mandate.
The
proposed
amendment
would
signal
that
Zimbabwe’s
leadership
sees
itself
above
the
law
and
above
the
people.”

The
Ibhetshu
LikaZulu
SG
called
for
a
broad-based
civic
mobilisation
to
stop
what
he
described
as
an
unconstitutional
extension
of
power.

“Ibhetshu
LikaZulu
calls
upon
all
Zimbabweans,
workers,
students,
churches,
civil
society,
traditional
leaders
and
the
diaspora 
to
use
every
democratic
instrument
available
to
resist
this
unconstitutional
extension
of
power,”
he
said.

“We
must
defend
the
2013
Constitution,
the
product
of
national
consensus
and
struggle,
from
being
mutilated
to
serve
personal
ambition.”

Fuzwayo
said
extending
President
Mnangagwa’s
rule
would
not
benefit
citizens
but
rather
entrench
corruption,
economic
decline,
and
repression.

“Instead,
it
entrenches
the
continuation
of
grand
corruption
and
looting
of
national
resources;
economic
decay
and
rising
poverty,
as
Zimbabwe
sinks
deeper
into
crisis;
suppression
of
dissent,
human
rights
abuses,
and
the
closure
of
democratic
space;
and
institutional
collapse,
as
state
organs
are
captured
to
protect
political
elites,”
he
said.

He
added
that
Zanu
PF’s
move
was
a
self-serving
attempt
to
preserve
the
priviledges
of
the
ruling
elite,
not
to
address
the
country’s
pressing
challenges.

“This
resolution
seeks
to
secure
the
privileges
of
the
few
at
the
expense
of
the
many,
a
continuation
of
national
suffering
disguised
as
political
stability,”
Fuzwayo
said.

Fuzwayo
also
urged
Members
of
Parliament,
including
those
within
Zanu
PF,
to
uphold
their
oath
of
office
and
reject
any
proposed
bill
or
motion
that
seeks
to
extend
Mnangagwa’s
presidency.

“History
will
not
absolve
those
who
aid
the
dismantling
of
constitutional
democracy,”
Fuzwayo
said.

Fuzwayo
maintained
that
Zimbabwe’s
crisis
was
not
one
of
leadership
tenure
but
of
governance
failure
and
corruption.

“Zimbabwe
does
not
need
another
extended
presidency.
It
needs
accountability,
rule
of
law,
jobs,
service
delivery
and
a
functioning
economy,”
he
said.

“The
attempt
to
manipulate
the
Constitution
for
personal
and
factional
benefit
must
be
resisted
with
unity,
courage,
and
constitutional
patriotism.
The
people
of
Zimbabwe
deserve
better
than
a
recycled
dictatorship.”

If
implemented,
this
constitutional
amendment
could
mark
the
second
major
alteration
to
presidential
term
limits
after
the
2021
changes
under
Constitutional
Amendment
No.
2,
which
expanded
executive
powers
and
allowed
the
President
to
appoint
judges
beyond
retirement
age.

Zimbabwe’s
second-largest
city,
once
regarded
as
the
nation’s
industrial
powerhouse,
is
now
battling
one
of
its
worst
water
crises
in
decades.
Residents
in
several
suburbs
receive
water
only
twice
or
thrice
a
week,
while
others,
especially
those
in
high-lying
areas,
have
gone
for
months
without
running
water.
Many
now
depend
on
boreholes,
wells
and
Jojo
tanks
to
survive.

A
new
technical
report
titled Glassblock/Bopoma
Dam
and
Groundwater:
Feasibility
and
Strategic
Importance,
prepared
for
the
Bulawayo
City
Council,
reveals
the
scale
of
the
crisis.
It
warns
that
Bulawayo
faces
a
“permanent
water
deficit
by
2040”
unless
decisive
action
is
taken
to
expand
supply.

In
his
foreword
to
the
report,
Cllr
Coltart
said
the
city
“stands
at
a
critical
juncture
in
its
quest
for
water
security,”
noting
that
the
shortages
are
now
undermining
Bulawayo’s
growth
and
resilience.

“For
decades,
the
city
has
endured
chronic
shortages,
severe
rationing,
and
the
erosion
of
confidence
in
its
ability
to
sustain
both
population
growth
and
economic
activity,”
he
said.
“Water
scarcity
in
Bulawayo
is
not
simply
an
environmental
challenge.
It
is
a
structural
constraint
on
the
city’s
growth,
investment
potential,
and
long-term
viability.”

The
report
identifies
the
proposed
Glassblock/Bopoma
Dam
as
the
quickest
and
most
affordable
intervention
to
stabilise
the
city’s
supply.
According
to
its
findings,
the
dam
could
deliver
70
megalitres
(ML)
of
water
per
day
within
three
years,
at
a
cost
of
US$0.90
per
cubic
metre.

“The
Glassblock/Bopoma
Dam
represents
the
most
practical,
least-cost,
and
fastest-to-implement
solution
to
the
city’s
current
water
crisis,”
Coltart
said.
“It
offers
a
realistic
opportunity
to
stabilise
supply
while
other
large-scale
projects
remain
years
away.”

By
contrast,
the
long-term
Gwayi-Shangani
project
will
take
at
least
10
years
to
complete
and
deliver
water
at
a
cost
of
US$2.47
per
cubic
metre,
nearly
three
times
more
expensive
than
the
Glassblock
supply.

The
report
recommends
that
both
construction
phases
of
the
Glassblock
project
proceed
simultaneously
to
ensure
immediate
impact.

“Phase
One
will
involve
the
building
of
the
dam
and
a
water
supply
pipeline
from
Glassblock
to
the
Ncema
pump
station,”
the
report
explained.
“Phase
Two
will
upgrade
the
Ncema
Water
Treatment
Works,
improve
pumping
capacity
to
the
Tuli
Reservoir,
and
double
the
reservoir’s
holding
capacity
from
45
to
90
megalitres.
Both
phases
must
proceed
at
the
same
time
so
that
when
the
dam
fills,
Bulawayo’s
residents
and
industries
can
immediately
benefit.”

The
report
also
points
to
widespread
environmental
degradation
as
a
major
contributor
to
the
crisis.
It
warns
that
illegal
riverbed
mining
has
destroyed
key
catchment
areas,
transforming
a
temporary
shortage
into
a
structural
one.
“Illegal
riverbed
mining
has
turned
what
should
be
a
temporary
shortage
into
a
structural
crisis.
The
destruction
of
catchment
areas
is
undoing
decades
of
investment
in
water
infrastructure,”
the
report
states.

Several
of
the
city’s
main
dams,
including
Umzingwane,
Upper
Ncema
and
Inyankuni,
have
suffered
severe
siltation.
The
report
notes
that
Inyankuni
now
receives
only
six
percent
of
its
intended
inflows,
while
Umzingwane
was
decommissioned
in
2023
after
water
levels
dropped
to
dead
storage.

Although
government
outlawed
alluvial
gold
mining
along
rivers
through
Statutory
Instrument
188
of
2024,
enforcement
has
been
weak,
and
illegal
activities
continue
to
threaten
Bulawayo’s
already
fragile
water
sources.

The
city’s
aquifers,
particularly
Nyamandhlovu
and
Epping
Forest,
also
face
serious
strain.
Originally
designed
to
provide
18
ML
per
day,
they
currently
yield
around
10
ML
due
to
vandalism,
poor
maintenance
and
over-extraction.
“Groundwater
resources
play
an
important
supplementary
role,
but
they
are
neither
sufficient
nor
sustainable
on
their
own,”
the
report
warns.
“Without
urgent
investment,
rehabilitation,
and
protection
of
aquifer
infrastructure,
these
resources
will
remain
vulnerable
to
vandalism,
over-extraction,
and
eventual
depletion.”

Bulawayo’s
water
insecurity
has
stunted
its
growth
and
investment
potential.
The
city’s
population
has
stagnated
at
around
655,000
for
over
a
decade,
a
situation
the
report
attributes
to
“suppressed
demand
driven
by
water
insecurity.”
The
report
estimates
the
city’s
current
minimum
supply
at
155
ML
per
day,
against
a
real
demand
of
more
than
260
ML.

Coltart
said
failing
to
act
decisively
would
have
far-reaching
consequences.
“The
completion
of
Glassblock
Dam
and
its
pipeline
is
not
a
luxury,
it
is
an
existential
necessity,”
he
said.
“Without
it,
Bulawayo
risks
not
only
worsening
shortages
but
also
the
erosion
of
its
role
as
a
dynamic
urban
and
economic
centre
in
Zimbabwe.”

The
report
concludes
that
only
major
infrastructure
investments
can
prevent
Bulawayo
from
sliding
into
a
permanent
state
of
crisis.
“An
integrated
water
security
plan
for
Bulawayo
is
essential,
deliver
Glassblock/Bopoma
Dam
urgently,
secure
and
rehabilitate
aquifers,
and
advance
the
Gwayi-Shangani
project
for
the
future,”
it
states.
“Without
these
measures,
Bulawayo
risks
deepening
shortages,
public
health
crises,
and
constrained
economic
development.”

For
the
past
two
years,
these
children
had
been
learning
in
makeshift
tents
after
the
original
school
was
decommissioned
when
classroom
floors
collapsed
into
a
mineshaft
caused
by
illegal
mining
activities.

The
new
school
was
handed
over
by
Minister
of
Primary
and
Secondary
Education
Torerai
Moyo
during
a
commissioning
ceremony
last
week.
The
facility
was
built
by
The
Church
of
Jesus
Christ
of
Latter-day
Saints.

Minister
Moyo
said
illegal
mining
had
severely
damaged
the
school’s
infrastructure,
culminating
in
the
collapse
of
a
classroom
due
to
ground
destabilisation.
The
incident
affected
1,348
learners
—
698
girls
and
650
boys
—
along
with
45
teachers
(39
women
and
six
men).

In
the
meantime,
the
Civil
Protection
Unit
(CPU)
had
relocated
students
to
Russell
Primary
School,
but
the
temporary
setup
was
far
from
ideal.

Pupils
faced
a
shortage
of
toilets,
harsh
weather,
heavy
dust
and
noise,
and
no
sporting
facilities,
making
learning
extremely
difficult.

Damage
to
furniture
and
textbooks
in
the
insecure
tent
classrooms
further
hampered
education,
and
many
parents
withdrew
their
children,
leading
to
a
noticeable
drop
in
enrolment.
Said
Moyo:

“Recognising
the
urgent
need
for
a
sustainable
solution,
The
Church
of
Jesus
Christ
of
Latter-day
Saints
stepped
in
to
address
these
issues.

“They
undertook
the
construction
of
seven
learning
blocks,
an
administrative
block
and
an
ablution
block,
equipping
the
classrooms
with
a
10kVA
solar
system,
600
desks,
600
chairs
and
14
tables
with
chairs
for
teachers.”

Moyo
said
the
new
Globe
and
Phoenix
Primary
School
is
now
ready
to
accommodate
785
learners
—
409
girls
and
376
boys.

The
minister
praised
The
Church
of
Jesus
Christ
of
Latter-day
Saints
for
its
substantial
contributions
to
education
in
Zimbabwe.

At
the
end
of
August,
President
Ramaphosa
offered some
remarks at
the
Zimbabwe
Agricultural
Show
on
the
importance
of
land
reform.
The
comments
seemed
unremarkable.
He
said
that
land
reform
was
necessary
to
address
historical
injustices,
and
that
land
reform
can
deliver
important
benefits
for
those
who
have
been
excluded.
He
argued
that
investment
in
technology
and
infrastructure
to
support
agriculture
is
important. 
Nothing
remotely
controversial
there,
surely?

A
commitment
to
land
reform
is
of
course
central
to
national
policy
in
South
Africa,
as
was
again
highlighted
in a
speech
by
Minister
Mzwanele
Nyhontso
of
Land
Reform
and
Rural
Development at
the
recent Land,
Life
and
Society
conference in
Cape
Town.
He
noted
how
“land
reform
is
part
of
climate
justice,
food
justice,
and
social
justice,”
noting
that
“We
must
ensure
that
land
reform
is
not
reduced
to
narrow
market
transfers
but
is
about
the
redistribution
of
power,
resources,
and
dignity.”
He
committed
to
carrying
the
debates
in
the
conference
forward
to
the
forthcoming G20
discussions
in
South
Africa.
This
is
vitally
important
given
that
land
reform
is
so
central
to
the
summit
themes
of
solidarity,
equality
and
sustainability.

However,
as
soon
as
the
comments
were
uttered
in
Harare
in
August
all
hell
broke
loose
in
South
Africa,
with all
sorts
of
people –
mostly
associated
with
large-scale
farming
lobbies
–
objecting.
The
spokesperson
for
the
Democratic
Alliance, Willie
Aucamp,
notionally
part
of
the
government
of
national
unity,
was
outraged. The
FW
De
Klerk
Foundation
put
out
a statement cautioning
against
praising
Zimbabwe. A
prominent
agricultural
economist,
and
a
great
supporter
of
large-scale
commercial
farming,
argued
that
Zimbabwe’s
land
reform
was
a
failure
and
no
model
for
South
Africa.
And
academic
Twitter commentators from
the
UK
even
weighed
in.
The
reactions
were
nothing
short
of
hysterical.
The
idea
that
Zimbabwe
had
anything
to
offer
South
Africa
was
abhorrent!

Myths
and
realities

Nowhere
in
this
‘debate’
were
the
facts
about
Zimbabwe’s
land
reform
put
forward.
A
close
colleague
was
invited
onto
South
African
TV
to
offer
some
perspectives
from
our
research,
but
his
interview
was
never
broadcast.
It
didn’t
fit
the
narrative.
We
of
course
remember
all
this
from
the
early
2000s
in
Zimbabwe
when
the
reactions
to
Zimbabwe’s
land
reform
were
roundly
condemned
by
liberal
elites
both
in
South
Africa
and
elsewhere,
particularly
the
UK.
Emotion
overtook
facts,
and
in
the
early
days
there
was
limited
research
information
to
counter
these
well-trodden
narratives
about
the
‘catastrophe’
of
land
reform.
In
Zimbabwe,
this
has
happily
changed,
and
the
contributions
of
the Sam
Moyo
African
Institute
for
Agrarian
Studies amongst
many
others,
including
our
own
work
and
the
2010
book Zimbabwe’s
Land
Reform:
Myths
and
Realities,
has
provided
a
more
balanced
picture.
Not
all
positive
by
any
means,
but
with
important
lessons
–
including
for
South
Africa.

The
reaction
to
the 2024
Expropriation
Act in
South
Africa
has
elicited
so
many
similar
responses,
with
people
arguing
that
South
Africa
will
surely
follow
the
(assumed)
terrible
fate
of
Zimbabwe
if
it
is
followed.
The
humiliating
dressing
down
that
President
Ramaphosa
and
team
got
on their
visit
to
the
White
House was
focused
on
the
land
expropriation,
channelling
the
ire
of
Elon
Musk
and
his
white
relatives
and
friends
in
South
Africa.
The
bizarre
talk
of
‘white
genocide’
and
the
summary
removal
of
whites
from
their
land
had
no
relation
to
facts
and
the
photos
offered
to
the
visiting
South
Africans
included
ones
that
had
nothing
to
do
with
South
Africa.
Facts
don’t
matter
in
these
emotive
situations,
and
even
the
assembled
golfers
who
joined
the
visiting
mission
were
unable
to
offset
the
Trump
tirade.

As
more
sane
commentators
have
pointed
out,
the
Act
offers
only
a
limited
set
of
options
for
expropriation
without
compensation,
and
that
these
are
unlikely
to
be
applied
in
any
case.
Expropriation
by
the
state
for
public
purposes
and
in
the
public
interest
is
a
standard
route
in
all
countries
and
does
not
undermine
the
supposed
sanctity
of
private
property.
As
long
as
effectively
governed
by
land
law
and
associated
land
administration
measures,
then
such
an
approach
can
be
important
as
part
of
wider
state
planning
of
land
use.

Compensation
at
appropriate
levels
should
always
be
part
of
a
land
redistribution
programme.
Zimbabwe
for
example
has
this
enshrined
in
the
2013
Constitution
and
compensation
for
‘improvements’
(not
land)
has
been
agreed
and
indeed
has
been
paid
since
the
early
days
of
the
land
reform
under
President
Mugabe,
although
at
inadequate
levels.
Since
the
signing
of
the Global
Compensation
Deed in
July
2020,
in
Zimbabwe
a
total
amount
has
been
agreed
and
payments
are
being
made,
although
mechanisms
of
payment
are
still
be
wrangled
over.

Why
the
confusion?

So
why
these
reactions?
What
is
behind
them,
and
how
can
they
be
countered?
The
first
and
most
obvious
reason
is
that
political
interests
are
at
play.
Large-scale
white
farming
is
an
important
lobby
in
South
Africa
as
it
was
in
Zimbabwe,
with
significant
capital
behind
it
and
with
strong
political
connections,
stretching
to
international
capitals
and
legislatures.
The
forcefulness
of
some
who
argue
against
Zimbabwe’s
land
reform
in
the
UK
parliament,
for
example,
reflects
strong
connections
dating
back
to
colonial
land
ownership.

Second,
these
lobby
groups
reflect
racial
differences
and
the
legacy
of
apartheid
and
colonialism
–
even
if
sometimes
they
are
covered
by
black
faces;
those
Jacob
Zuma
called
the ‘clever
blacks.’ That
land,
race
and
colonial
history
are
deeply
entwined
in
the
former
settler
economies
of
southern
Africa
is
undeniable.
That
its
resonances
exist
today
is
clearly
apparent
in
these
debates.

Third,
there
are
certain
assumptions
so
deeply
embedded
in
cultural
psyches
that
they
are
difficult
to
dislodge.
The
most
prominent
of
these
is
the
idea
of
the
primacy
of
private
property
rights
with freehold
title as
the
only
route
to
tenure
security,
investment
and
economic
growth.
And,
in
a
linked
equally
strong
narrative,
that large-scale
farms are
the
only
ones
that
are
viable.
That
such
assumptions
have
been
debunked
by
international
research
over
so
many
decades
doesn’t
seem
to
matter;
it
is
an
article
of
faith.
In
South
Africa,
the
‘property
rights
clause’
is
like
the
Second
Amendment
in
the
US,
and
the
right
to
bear
arms.

Why
evidence-based
research
remains
important

Can
we
ever
get
over
these
blockages
to
progressive
land
reform?
I
sometimes
wonder,
when
you
encounter
these
occasional
outbursts.
My
commitment
–
along
with
many,
many
others
–
is
to
continue
to
do
research
to
challenge
the
myths,
to
develop
evidence-based
alternative
narratives
and
provide
policymakers
and
others
the
tools
to
make
different
arguments.
Not
easy
and
frequently
frustrating,
but
‘aluta
continua’
as
the
saying
goes!

This
post
was
written
by Ian
Scoones and
first
appeared
on Zimbabweland.

Photo
credits:
South
African
presidency,
flickr

Post
published
in:

Agriculture

HARARE
–
The
National
Bakers
Association
of
Zimbabwe
(NBAZ)
has
warned
that
plans
to
increase
the
price
of
bread
flour
will
push
the
retail
price
of
bread
above
the
symbolic
US$1
mark,
worsening
the
cost
of
living
crisis
for
millions
of
urban
households.

In
a
letter
to
industry
and
commerce
minister
Mangaliso
Ndlovu
dated
October
24,
NBAZ
president
Elvis
Ncube
said
bakers
were
alarmed
by
a
proposal
from
the
Grain
Millers
Association
of
Zimbabwe
(GMAZ)
to
raise
the
cost
of
bread
flour
by
four
percent.

Ncube
said
flour
already
accounts
for
about
43
percent
of
total
bread
production
costs,
and
the
proposed
hike
would
immediately
add
two
cents
to
the
cost
of
producing
each
loaf,
forcing
a
corresponding
increase
in
the
wholesale
price.

“The
sector
does
not
have
the
capacity
to
absorb
any
further
increases
in
input
costs
without
compromising
business
viability,”
Ncube
wrote.

“If
a
four
percent
increase
in
bread
flour
is
permitted,
it
will
translate
to
a
two-cent
rise
per
loaf,
effective
the
same
day
the
flour
price
goes
up.”

Bread
is
Zimbabwe’s
second
most
important
food
item
after
maize
meal,
used
to
cook
sadza/isitshwala,
and
serves
as
a
daily
staple
in
most
urban
homes.

The
bakers’
association
said
since
January
2024,
the
industry
had
absorbed
significant
cost
pressures
—
particularly
following
the
government’s
decision
to
reclassify
bread
from
zero-rated
to
tax-exempt
under
value-added
tax
(VAT)
rules.
That
change
prevented
bakers
from
claiming
VAT
refunds
on
inputs,
eroding
already
thin
margins.

Despite
rising
costs
of
fuel,
packaging,
electricity,
and
distribution,
Ncube
noted,
bakers
had
kept
the
wholesale
bread
price
unchanged
for
most
of
2024
and
2025.

The
latest
flour
price
proposal,
he
warned,
would
trigger
a
five-cent
pass-through
effect
per
loaf
at
retail
level,
likely
pushing
the
price
of
bread
above
the
US$1
threshold
from
November
1,
2025.

“We
remain
hopeful
that
the
undesirable
effects
of
such
an
increase
can
still
be
averted,”
Ncube
said,
appealing
to
the
government
to
intervene.

If
approved,
the
flour
price
hike
would
mark
another
blow
for
consumers
already
grappling
with
rising
prices
of
basics
and
frequent
currency
volatility.