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Zimbabwe’s Zimplats to peg workforce job cuts at 1%

Published

8 months ago

April 11, 2024

Zimplats’ CEO, Alex Mhembere, said on Wednesday that the firm would cut its staff by 1% and make other cost cuts to get through the sharp drop in platinum group metal (PGM) prices.

In March, Zimbabwe’s biggest platinum producer said it was giving voluntary job cuts to try to keep costs down as sales dropped. Southern African PGM miners, like Impala Platinum, Sibanye Stillwater, and Anglo American Platinum (parent company of Zimplats), have all had to cut costs and thousands of jobs because metal prices fell over the past year because of weak auto production and worries about a slowdown in the world economy.

“Through these current headwinds, we are only going to reduce our people by 1% of the total labour complement of 8,000 people that we have,” Mhembere told a PGM mining conference in Johannesburg.

Job cuts were “not the only lever that can sustain the business”, he said. The company wants to keep making about 600,000 PGM ounces a year, and Mhembere said that one way they plan to do that is by increasing production.

He said that Zimplats was cutting back on spending for its $1.8 billion, 10-year growth plan that was announced in 2021. He also said that the company would have “little capital” in its next fiscal year, which begins in July.

“We’re going to spend less. We will only be focusing on our replacement capital expenditure, stay-in-business capex and very little on growth capex,” Mhembere said.

Mhembere said that Zimplats didn’t think that Zimbabwe’s new gold-backed currency, which replaced the Zimbabwe dollar that was destroyed by inflation last week, would hurt their business.

“It is not a threat to us. We operate in United States dollars. This is a local currency and it will not affect our business,” he said.
In November, Reuters reported that Zimbabwean miners, who make a lot of money from exports, would see their profits drop almost 15% in 2024. Half of them are expected to report losses.

The country in southern Africa is famous for having a lot of gold, lithium, and platinum group metals (PGMs). A report from the Zimbabwe Chamber of Mines called Mining Prospects for 2024 said that the mining industry’s income and profit will be hurt by a mix of global and local forces in 2024.

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Moroccan annual inflation rises to 0.8% in November

Published

19 hours ago

December 21, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

Morocco’s statistics office has confirmed that the country’s annual inflation rate, as determined by the consumer price index, increased from 0.7% in October to 0.8% in November.

Monthly, consumer prices decreased by 0.2% from October.

The primary driver of inflation, food costs, grew by 0.8% compared to the previous year, while non-food inflation climbed by 0.7%. Core inflation, which does not include more erratic items like food, increased 2.6% annually and 0.2% monthly.

According to the central bank, inflation is expected to average 1% this year, down from 6.1% last year.

Despite the Al-Haouz earthquake, a spike in inflation, and worldwide economic challenges, Morocco’s GDP grew by 3.4% in 2023.

A recovery in tourism, robust industrial exports, and rising private consumption—all bolstered by prudent macroeconomic policies—were the main drivers of growth.

VenturesNow

Nigeria’s $42bn foreign reserves enough for 9 months’ imports— Central Bank

Published

2 days ago

December 20, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

According to Olayemi Cardoso, Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the nation’s $42.01 billion in foreign reserves can cover imports of goods and services for almost nine months.

Cardoso promised Nigerians improved economic fortunes in 2025 while addressing the Senate Committee on Banking, Insurance, and Other Financial Institutions yesterday in Abuja at the presentation of the performance index report.

Cardoso stated: “External Reserves rose from $ 38.35 billion it was on September 30, 2024, to $ 42.01 billion as of December 12, 2024”.

He clarified that third-party receipts in Q3 2024 and revenues from taxes connected to crude oil were the main drivers of the rise in foreign reserves during the specified time.

“We saw remarkable improvements in our trade balance and maintained a current account surplus,” he added.

“Our external reserves level can finance over 9.09 months of import of goods and services or 13.91 months only, higher than the international benchmark of 3.0 months and a robust buffer against shocks”.

On cash shortage, the CBN boss reiterated the N150 million fine against any branch of banks caught illegally distributing new Naira notes to currency hawkers and unscrupulous elements and said the Nigerian economy will improve in 2025 through policies and measures.

He predicted a stronger economic future: “Despite our economy’s challenges, there are clear reasons for optimism.

“The gradual stabilization of the forex market, ongoing banking sector recapitalization, and positive growth trends in key sectors, especially the services sector, indicate a path toward recovery and stability.”