FNB comes through for zimbabweans in S.A

FIRST National Bank (fnb) this week launched a cellphone-based instant money transfer service between South Africa and Zimbabwe in conjunction with the OK Zimbabwe supermarket group.

They have done extensive research into the cross-border remittance market and devised a service that is readily accessible to the people who need it most because people don't always have the time to travel to the bank during working hours, and often need to send money     home instantly and easily

FNB said that according to the World Bank, 20 percent of money sent to Zimbabwe from South Africa was spent on the cost of getting it there.The banking group also found that an estimated 1,9 million Zimbabweans living and working in South Africa send an average R6,7 billion a year to Zimbabwe.

According to a World Bank chart of remittance percentages, FNB, Nedbank and Standard Bank charged over 18 percent to send money to Zimbabwe, with Absa charging 15 percent, for online services.Western Union charged 8,7 percent for cash to cash. Bank of Athens charged 39 percent and Bidvest 32 percent. The total average charge for the first quarter of 2013 was 17 percent.

With their new product, FNB said there were no currency conversion rates for the sender and zero transaction fees for the recipient.Recipients do not have to be pre-registered, but must be residents of Zimbabwe and can collect their money at OK stores in Harare and Bulawayo.

FNB plans to roll out to other outlets in Zimbabwe.

The sender from South Africa must be an FNB account holder who has complied with all the Financial Intelligence Centre Act (FICA) requirements, (which prevents money laundering), and must be a permanent resident of South Africa.

FNB has established a commercial agreement with OK to facilitate the transfers.

FNB represantative confirmed that in cases where a receiver had a problem with acquiring the money,  OK would escalate it to South Africa to be resolved since FNB did not have branches in Zimbabwe.

 

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shortage of water chemicals

Water shortages in the country will see a rise not only because there was not much rain but also because chemicals for treating it are slowly and surely becoming scarce.An acute shortage of water treatment chemicals, burst water pipes and recurrent power shortages have been blamed for water shortages across Harare.

 At its maximum, the city produces 620 megalitres but has been producing around 400 million litres of which 60 percent is lost through leaks. To compound the problem, close to 70 000 households that are not on the council database are illegally connected to the water system.  Stocks of aluminum sulphate were low so water production was reduced to stretch the number of days people could have water could have water

The action has, however, severely affected residents who have had to scrounge for water. Residents of high-density suburbs were relying on boreholes, some of which have been condemned because they are contaminated with faucal matter. The city has not alerted the residents of its problems and residents continue to wonder why they do not have running water.

According to the city authourities , Zimphos, which supplies aluminum sulphate, is supposed to deliver five 30-tonne trucks of the chemical daily but failed to do so for an undisclosed number of days.Zimphos alerted the council about the breakdown of its plant. The city uses US$3 million to procure water treatment chemicals each month. Highdon Investments chairman Mr MacDonald Chapfika said the city was snubbing suppliers with proven capacity to deliver effectively.

Highdon Investments said that during their time as suppliers they never allowed the situation to deteriorate to such levels as they always had plan B in place. They argued that they had secured dealerships from a number of leading South African manufacturers who are willing to set up production factories in Harare.

Is this a question of who can provide chemicals or we just need them for everyone benefit. The city officials must make an effort to get the chemicals before the city runs completely out of safe drinking water.

FNB coming through for Zimbabweans

With most of the Zimbabwean population living in foreign land there has been problems in terms of getting money home. There was once the use of the omalayitsha. They were quiet useful because they were the only form of getting money home. People lost a lot of money to amalayitsha because they were squandering the money and most of the time it did not get to their rightful owners as they sometimes diverted it for personal use. FnB   

FNB has launched an affordable service for FNB customers in SA to send money to residents in Zimbabwe using its Cellphone Banking channel. FNB's Zimbabwe Money Transfer service is more convenient and economical than anything else offered in the market.

Recently, research data by the World Bank highlighted that 20% of money sent to Zimbabwe from South Africa is spent on getting it home. It is estimated that 1.9 million Zimbabweans live and work in South Africa sending around R6.7 billion annually to Zimbabwe.

The FNB Zimbabwe Money Transfer Service is based on a tiered pricing structure. Sending R1000 will only cost R45, which is 4.5% of the value of the remittance. Other savings include the absence of currency conversion rates for the sender and zero transaction fees for the recipient.

"We have done extensive research into the cross border remittance market and devised a service that is readily accessible to the people who need it most. People don't always have the time to travel to the bank during working hours, and often need to send money home instantly and easily," says van Wyk.

Recipients don't need to be preregistered but must be residents of Zimbabwe and hold a Zimbabwean identity document. Recipients can collect their money at OK Ltd stores in Harare and Bulawayo, FNB is currently rolling out to other outlets in Zimbabwe.

FNB Cellphone Banking allows senders to transfer South African Rand to Zimbabwe, instantly wherever they are. It is in line with the bank's strategy to increase service options on our various digital channels

In order to use the service, senders must have an FNB account and be registered for Cellphone Banking. Senders can send up to R1 500 a day, or R10 000 a month to Zimbabwe.

Tier	Fee
R100 - R1000	R 45.00
R1001 - R1500	R 70.00

Econet continues to progress

 

 

 

Econet has introduced a mobile Wi-Fi device aimed directly at "small group" broadband users to compete directly with the fixed broadband providers.

"It's a device by the Chinese telecoms infrastructure and devices giant Huawei; a model called E5332. Some of you probably saw the first adverts in the weekly papers yesterday by Econet,' reported TechZim.

"3G routers themselves are not a new phenomenon of-course but this is a big deal in terms of scale, availability and price. At $90, the mobile Wi-Fi device is as competitive as they come and may right now be one of the lowest priced Wi-Fi routing devices locally. And it being available directly from the operator means potential customers don’t have to do their own painful product search which in turn means there’s high chance for massive adoption,' said Limbikani Kabweza an IT specialist.

In terms of features, the device offers high speed internet with on-the-paper HSPA+ 21Mbps download and 5.7Mbps upload.

"We're told that effectively you get something around 13Mbps, but that's just "told" for now. We'll be taking it through the paces late this week so we can either confirm that, or just tell you our experiences. You also get EDGE or GPRS when in areas without 3G," added Mr Kabweza.

The device also has an antenna port to boost the signal when 3G drops or in poor network areas. Check back for a review in the coming days. Bulawayo 24

School drop out numbers increase

MORE than 190 000 secondary school children and 30 percent of primary school pupils drop out of school each year in Zimbabwe, a Situational Analysis on the Status of Women's and Children's Rights in Zimbabwe (SASWCRZ) report reveals.

According to the study done by the Ministry of Education, Sport, Arts and Culture and Unicef, Zimbabwe's economic crisis has exacted a heavy toll on the nation's education system as poor families are unable to keep children in school.The number of boys and girls in Zimbabwe who do not receive any form of education is also growing. Estimates indicate that between 10 and 15 percent of children have never attended primary school.Presently, only 47 percent of children who complete primary school proceed to secondary schools. In 2010 an estimated one million secondary school age children were excluded from school due to failure to pay school fees.

The Minister of Education, Sport, Arts and Culture, David Coltart once revealed that the huge number of students who drop out of school was worrying.

"It's a very worrying development and that is why we have to make education affordable. For us another priority is to identify talented children so that they do not fall out of the system," Minister Coltart said.

Mrs Tumisang Thabela, the Matabeleland South Provincial Education Director, said her province was working on reducing the number of students who drop out of school.

"We are doing a lot to reduce the number of students who leave school but we have a problem that some of these are beyond our control. We have a number of strategies we have which include BEAM (Basic Education Assistance Module) but I would need to be in my office for me to list them for you. But I can tell you that we are concerned about the situation," she said.

Mr Dan Moyo, the Bulawayo Provincial Education Director, said he was not in a position to comment as he was in Gweru.

Zanu-PF Secretary for Education in the Politburo, Dr Sikhanyiso Ndlovu, said the dropouts were unacceptable and were a sign that the education sector was under-funded.

"It's very unfortunate that we are not taking the education of our children seriously these days. The payments of Beam are forever delayed resulting in some of our children dropping out of school. The money allocated to education in the national budget is also small, we need more money. Right now the money that is set aside for education is just enough to pay teachers and the teachers' is also inadequate anyway.

"There is a need for money to assist the underprivileged students and their families who cannot afford the costs of education. We need to improve the working conditions of teachers so that they become dedicated to their jobs.

"The percentage of children who don't go to school is neither here nor there, education should be mandatory; there should not be even a percentage of children who don't go to school. It is illegal for a child not to go to school, if parents cannot afford they should use Beam, let the Government deal with the Beam headache not the children," said Dr Ndlovu.

It has been found that females and pupils in rural areas are more likely to drop out of school due to poverty, lack of finances, distances between school and home, poor nutrition and informal employment.Girls of secondary age who drop out of school are vulnerable to early marriages, sexual exploitation and violence through trafficking and sex slavery. When they drop out of school their chances of escaping poverty become limited. Girls are more disadvantaged as cost recovery measures in the education sector, religious and cultural practices that favour boys contribute to girls falling behind male pupils in acquiring educational levels needed to access leadership positions in society and higher levels of employment.

The Minister of Women Affairs, Gender and Community Development, Dr Olivia Muchena said her ministry was working with the Ministry of Education to stop rural school girls from dropping out of school.

"We have a gender sensitive programme in urban and rural schools that looks at that problem but due to lack of funding the project is not that effective. But I can tell you in short that we are working with the Ministry of Education to arrest the problem of rural school girls dropping out of school," said Dr Muchena.

In terms of the proportion of girls and boys in secondary schools Zimbabwe is the worst performing country out of all the 15 Sadc countries as there are only 35 percent girls in secondary education. The 2012 Sadc Gender Protocol Barometer however, has a higher figure of almost parity as it found out that enrolment stood at 48 percent girls at secondary school. This shows that the gender gap as secondary school level is rapidly growing. The enrolment of girls at tertiary level is slightly better than that of secondary school. It stands at 37 percent. This is a result of the various affirmative action initiatives that have seen an increase in women's enrolment especially at teachers' training colleges and vocational institutions.

At tertiary level Zimbabwe is ranked at number 14 out of 15 Sadc countries.

 

The literacy rate will drop if such issues are not taken into consideration

Work-related deaths continue to increase at alarming rate

There were 959 serious injuries and 30 deaths at work in the first two months of this year, Acting Labour and Social Services Minister Theresa Makone told an occupational safety and health workshop for engineers in Harare today (Wednesday).Officially opening the three-day National Social Security Authority workshop for engineers, Mrs Makone said work-related accidents and deaths continued to rise at an alarming rate, a situation which was unacceptable for a nation with industry operating at below capacity. She said statistics collected over the last five years showed a consistent rise in the number of occupational deaths, injuries and diseases.

"In any economy operating at below half its capacity, the continued upward trend in accidents is unacceptable," she said.

She said in 2008 there had been 3 810 serious injuries, with 65 deaths. In 2009 the situation was only slightly better with 3 122 serious injuries and 64 fatalities. In 2010 the number of serious injuries at work shot up to 4 410 serious injuries, 90 of which were fatal. In 2011 there was a slight reduction to 4 158 serious injuries at work resulting in 75 deaths. Last year the number of serious injuries at work escalated to 5 141 serious injuries, 107 of which resulted in death. The 959 serious injuries and 30 deaths at work in January and February this year is higher than in the same period last year, when there were 821 serious injuries and 17 deaths. There were six cases of pneumoconiosis identified in January and February this year, which is half the total number of such cases recorded in the whole of last year. In 2008 and 2009 there were only two cases recorded in each year but in 2010 the number shot up to 13, the Minister said.  The number rose to 18 in 2011 and came down to 12 last year.

"This disease, which is incurable once it has set in, is caused by the inhalation of hazardous dust at work and is 100 % preventable," Mrs Makone said.

She went on to say that her understanding is that engineering as a discipline is founded on various laws such as Newton's laws of gravity, laws of motion, laws of friction and laws of thermodynamics.

These laws, she said, are simplified into the various standard specifications, codes of practice and guidelines which engineers are required to diligently apply in the world of work for sustainable development. It was unfortunate, she said, that there were many instances of engineers failing to observe these laws, resulting in preventable accidents and loss of life, not to mention damage to equipment and the environment.

"It is my government's position that every worker has a right to decent work; work that promotes life rather than destroying it; work that is fulfilling, safe and rewarding," she said.

It was for this reason, she said, that the government of Zimbabwe with its social partners, who are labour and business, has put structures in place to safeguard the safety and social security of workers in Zimbabwe. She went on to say that Cabinet had approved the principles for the harmonisation of occupational safety and health laws. Bulawayo24

The drafting of the harmonised Occupational Safety and Health Bill, intended to also domesticate all the International Labour Organisation conventions ratified by Zimbabwe to date, will follow. All this is for the improvement of safety and health protection in the workplace.

"Beyond this, the government, NSSA and the Zimbabwe Occupational Safety and Health Council all encourage industry to undertake self-regulation by adopting international occupational safety and health management systems for the good of business and the safety and health of the workforce," she said. Bulawayo24

Are we safe in our work places?

Econet becomes world class

Zimbabwe's largest mobile phone company, Econet Wireless, has unveiled a new function on its mobile money service EcoCash which allows a cellphone to also operate as a virtual debit card. The functionality is a first in the world and in Africa where mobile banking services are expanding as more people use the service to avoid high bank charges.

 

 

Mobile banking is becoming an attractive option owing to the lack of physical banking infrastructure in one of the world's fastest growing mobile phone markets with an estimated subscriber base of more than 760-million.Econet says instead of carrying a plastic card, an EcoCash user can simply "swipe" their cellphone when paying through a credit card terminal.

"This means that over two million Zimbabweans who are currently users of EcoCash now also have a debit card on their phones," said Econet Wireless Services chief executive officer Mr Darlington Mandivenga.

The interaction with a credit card terminal or Point of Sale device is a uniquely Econet innovation. A team of software developers, working at the London offices of another Econet company called TPS, developed the software. Econet has already started rolling out 10 000 terminals across the country that will not only accept the EcoCash Debit Card, but also any of the traditional credit cards such as American Express, Visa, MasterCard, including those issued by local banks, Mr Mandivenga said.

The announcement by Econet Wireless that it has implemented this service for its EcoCash users means that Zimbabwe now has the most advanced cashless system in Africa per head of population when compared with countries such as South Africa, which has one of Africa's highest mobile phone penetration rates. It also eases the need for United States dollar banknotes in the country.

Mr Mandivenga said Econet plans to have every store in the country, including rural areas, installed with an "EcoCash Terminal''. The company will not sell the terminals but will lease them to participating stores and merchants.The terminals work on the Econet network and are completely wireless and more advanced than those used in many European countries.

At point of sale, the customer initiates a "pay merchant" transaction from their EcoCash wallet on their phone. The customer will then enter the merchant number and amount, and the EcoCash terminal will print out a merchant copy to be signed by the customer and to keep for their records.

Mr Mandivenga said Econet will allow any bank in Zimbabwe which is integrated to its EcoCash network to also issue its own cards and use the terminals.

The Government has welcomed the Econet initiative which answers the call for the country to go cashless.The company contends that it has managed to complete a process of developing a payment system that would have taken at least five years to accomplish.

With Zimbabwe also hosting with neighbours Zambia, the United Nations World Tourism Organisation General Assembly in August this year, it means Zimbabwe will be able to demonstrate that it has the capacity to accommodate even the most sophisticated tourists and visitors, who in their countries would only pay with plastic credit cards.