Reforms spur Zimbabwe’s gold industry

By William MacNamara in London

Published: March 29 2009 20:39 | Last updated: March 29 2009 20:39

Zimbabwe’s gold trade could be reviving, making gold the first industrial sector to benefit from recent economic reforms in the country.

Mwana Africa, a mining group listed on London’s Aim market, plans to reopen the Freda Rebecca gold mine, one of Zimbabwe’s largest, by September.

It has been closed for the past three years, a period that was “impossible” for gold producers, one sector analyst said, as the central bank bought gold but failed to pay producers in either foreign currency or increasingly worthless Zimbabwean dollars.

Today’s buoyant gold price, above $900 an ounce, was an important factor in the decision to reopen the Freda Rebecca mine, said Kalaa Mpinga, Mwana chief executive.

More important, however, was a series of economic reforms starting with the “dollarisation” of the economy – or substitution of foreign currency as a medium of exchange – sanctioned by the central bank in January, he said.

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Tapping into business opportunities at airports

By Oyetunji Abioye

Published: Wednesday, 22 Oct 2008

All over the world, airports are where people make good and regular income because they attract people. While many of the people in airports are there for travelling purposes, many come there for sight-seeing, while others come to assist travellers, who are either just going or coming from some places, which may be within or outside the country.

However, it has been discovered that not many are aware of the myriad of business opportunities available in the airport environment.

Airports in Nigeria have become increasingly lucrative following the entrance of new airlines and the development of new routes by existing and new carriers, which has in turn increased the numbers of travellers.

Recently, the Minister of Aviation, Mr. Felix Hyat, expressed the willingness to work with private organisations towards the development of the airports.