Login to BlackFacts.com using your favorite Social Media Login. Click the appropriate button below and you will be redirected to your Social Media Website for confirmation and then back to Blackfacts.com once successful.
Enter the email address and password you used to join BlackFacts.com. If you cannot remember your login information, click the “Forgot Password” link to reset your password.
THE 2021 budget presented by the finance minister Mthuli Ncube to Parliament shows that the minister was living in a ‘fantasy world,’ according to academic, Professor Austin Chakaodza. “Some of the major challenges facing our society are issues of poverty and unemployment. Ninety percent of the people of Zimbabwe were already unemployed before the eruption of COVID-19. The majority of the people continue to lack certain basic capabilities which are encapsulated in the socio - economic rights guaranteed in the constitution,” he said. “They continue to be deprived of basic capabilities - such as the capability to be free from hunger, to live in good health, to be literate and access to a social security safety net. This budget does not fulfil a number of human rights such as the right to food, health, education and training,” Chakaodza said. A big part of Mthuli 2021 budget is a range of new tax measures to fund the ambitious $421,6 billion budget. The highlight of this plan is how the taxman plans to go after the informal sector, which is the bulk of the economy but pays little tax. From new and higher taxes to a new tax unit targeting SMEs, it is a budget that gives away very little, but takes a lot. Here is how some of Mthuli’s measures will affect you. If you are a low-income earner There is not much tax relief for you. The tax-free threshold has only been raised slightly from $5 000 per month to $10 000 per month. Tax bands will begin at $10 001 and end at $250 000 per month. This does little for the poorest workers. For perspective; in October, a Zimbabwean family of five needed $18 750 just to stay above the poverty line. If you earn more than $250 000, you pay the highest marginal tax rate of 40%. If you are expecting a bonus, the bonus tax-free threshold has gone up from $5 000 to $25 000, with effect from 1 November 2020. If you were tired of the 2% tax, sorry The 2% tax on mobile money and other electronic transfers stays. The tax has been unpopular since it came in 2018, but Mthuli says it has “generated substantial resources that have enabled Government to support various infrastructure projects”, including the COVID-19 response. So, the Minister isn’t giving much of this cash-cow away. You will no longer pay the 2% for transactions of up to $500, which is just a small increase from the current $300. For forex transactions, this tax will apply above US$5. The maximum of this tax that your business can pay has been raised from $25 000 to $800 000 on transactions with values exceeding $40 million, with effect from 1 January 2021. If you were planning to import a car Government will now control the importation of cars that are 10 years or older. Owning a car has just slid further from the reach of the majority, who cannot afford new vehicles. According to Mthuli, Zimbabwe has spent around US$1,3 billion importing buses and used cars over the past five years. Cars older than 10 years are now off the Open General Import Licence. This means that, from 2021, you will need a special import licence for older cars.
Many people have been killed since clashes began on Monday. Scores too had been killed in the run up to the vote as protestors marched against Conde's bid for a third term.
GOVERNMENT has approved a steep hike in school fees, which will see some pupils at boarding and urban day high schools forking out in excess of $55 000 up from $6 000 and $20 000 up from $3 000, respectively. BY HARRIET CHIKANDIWA NewsDay Weekender has also heard that some schools are demanding payments in United States dollars for non-examination classes set to return to school on Monday. This comes amid complaints by parents and guardians that the fees were too high considering that the term was short and most teachers were on strike. Teachers’ unions described the increases as “daylight robbery” and insisted that their members would continue with their industrial action until government has addressed their demands for a pay hike. Primary and Secondary Education minister Cain Mathema yesterday confirmed the fees hike, adding that no parent had formally raised objections with his ministry. “No parent has complained to the ministry, every parent or guardian knows what needs to be done,” he said. Schools reopened for examination classes on September 28 following a six-month break triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic. The second batch of students comprising Grade 6 and Forms Three and Lower Sixth will report for lessons on Monday while the last batch is expected on November 9. Schools such as Catholic-run Gokomere and Silveira, Rusununguko and Prince Edward, among others, have reviewed their fees upwards with the latter now demanding $55 000 for boarders and $20 000 for day scholars. Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (PTUZ) president Takavafira Zhou said the fees were certainly beyond the reach of many parents, particularly civil servants. “Our position is that parents must stop paying fees until teachers and government find each other over teachers' welfare, health and safety. Sending kids to school when teachers are not teaching is a waste of time; the fees are certainly beyond the reach of many parents, particularly teachers,” Zhou said. Parents interviewed by NewsDay Weekender said school heads just presented them with figures ranging from $28 000 to $55 000 and asked them to vote. “The process was not clear, we were just told figures to choose from and those figures will be presented to the government as coming from the parents. We are still under COVID-19, where our incomes were affected. Where will we get that money?” a parent whose child is at Rusungunguko asked. A parent with children at Price Edward in Harare asked: “Where can we get the $50 000 demanded by the school?” Other schools like Roosevelt also announced fees ranging from between $33 000 and $40 000, depending on pupils’ subject combinations. Parents of day scholars paid about $3 000 at Prince Edward before COVID-19, while boarding students at Roosevelt paid about $6 200. Zimbabwe Teachers Association (Zimta) chief executive officer Sifiso Ndlovu said fees were effected in consultation with the parents. “The onus to justify the fees level lies with school responsible authorities in liaison with parents and guardians of concerned learners,” he said
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Friday said the economic impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic on the Caribbean has been “massive”, particularly for tourism-dependent countries in the region, but that lower commodity prices were also having a “major impact” on Caribbean commodity exporters.
RIO DE JANEIRO, (Reuters) - Brazil recorded 30,026 additional confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus in the past 24 hours, and 571 deaths from COVID-19, the Health Ministry said yesterday.
The article Brazil reports 30,026 new coronavirus cases, 571 deaths appeared first on Stabroek News.
Justice Minister Delroy Chuck is hoping that the Joint Select Committee on the Sexual Harassment Act 2020 can complete deliberations by March 2021 to speed up the passing of legislation that will give protection to hundreds of victims suffering in...
The Ministry of Public Works, Special Projects Units will be conducting maintenance works (patching of pot holes, overlaying of deteriorated and depressed sections) and road surface marking from Saturday, October 24, 2020 to Sunday, October 25, 2020 from 9:00 hrs.
The article Ministry to do patching works at bus parks appeared first on Stabroek News.
Outrage and anger in Nigeria continue to grow as the #EndSARS protests expand and contend with outright violence from the Nigerian army and police force, according to The Associated Press, New York Times and social media reports. As Blavity previously reported , peaceful protesters have been incensed since army officials opened fire on them on Tuesday at Lekki Toll Gate in Lagos, killing at least seven people under the shroud of darkness, according to local news outlet Punch. Dozens of other protesters were killed across the country that same day, the newspaper reported. The violence, covered extensively on social media, has largely been ignored by Nigerian elected officials and even president Muhammadu Buhari, who made no mention of it during his address to the nation on Thursday night. Thursday was Buhari's first appearance since the Lekki Gate shooting, but he only tacitly mentioned the actions of his armed forces, only threatening protesters to not continue their...
An unreleased Biggie freestyle has surfaced 23 years after the rapper's death — and in a Pepsi commercial, no less. Tune in here.
[Nairobi News] Nairobi County government can now recruit county staff after close to two years of inactivity due to lack of quorum in the county's public service board.
Prime Minister of Belize Dean Barrow says voters who have been required to be in self-isolation or have tested positive for the coronavirus (COVID-1) ahead of the November 11 general elections, will not be allowed to vote.
