‘Caledonia’s policy won’t benefit Zimbabweans’

Canada-based resource firm Caledonia’s decision to adopt a policy of declaring dividends quarterly will benefit shareholders of the parent company and not indigenous Zimbabweans who hold shares in its local subsidiary, an official said. Caledonia is the parent company of Gwanda-based Blanket Mine and has other assets in South Africa and Zambia.

The company last year agreed to dilute its stake in the gold mine to 49 percent by disposing of 51 percent to locals.

Caledonia last year adopted a quarterly dividend policy and recently announced a first quarter dividend of US$0,015 per share from which earlier reports had suggested that locals would benefit.

“Indigenous Zimbabweans are shareholders in Blanket, a Zimbabwean company for which there is therefore an obligation to indigenise, which we have fulfilled, not Caledonia, a Canadian company, which has no indigenisation requirements (in Zimbabwe) and has assets in South Africa and Zambia,” said company vice president investor relations and corporate development Mr Mark Learmonth. — New Ziana.