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MORE than 1 000 foreign-owned companies have submitted their indigenisation plans, and measures are being put in place to ensure the remaining firms comply. Government in January set March 31 as the deadline for foreign-owned entities to submit their indigenisation plans or face closure. Our Harare Bureau understands that prior to the January announcement, about 500 companies had already submitted their indigenisation plans.
Youth, Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Minister Patrick Zhuwao yesterday said the response from foreign-owned companies to abide by the country’s laws was overwhelming.
“The show of commitment by the foreign-owned companies has been encouraging and over the last two weeks at least 500 companies have already submitted their indigenisation plans and we are yet to look at them,” he said.
Minister Zhuwao said companies in most sectors of the economy had made efforts to comply with the law, save for the financial sector.
“We are only having a problem with the financial sector. But this is not a Zhuwao thing,” he said.
He said he expected the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe to institute measures to ensure financial institutions complied with indigenisation regulations.
However, in a statement published yesterday, Finance and Economic Development Minister Patrick Chinamasa said: “I am pleased to advise that all the affected foreign owned financial institutions operating in Zimbabwe have submitted credible indigenisation and economic empowerment plans before the 31st March deadline in line with policy and notice gazette by the Minister of Youth, Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment.” He mentioned Barclays Bank, Stanbic, Old Mutual and CABS, Standard Chartered Bank, Ecobank, BancABC, MBCA Bank as having “submitted credible Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment plans before the deadline.”
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