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Conrad Mwanawashe : Business Reporter
ZIMBABWE’s foreign-owned financial institutions have all submitted plans for indigenisation but Government is livid with the Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries and the Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce for lying and distorting the indigenisation message, a Cabinet Minister has said. Cabinet last week directed that with effect from April 1, 2016, all line ministries should issue orders to the licensing authority to cancel licences of businesses that fail to submit their indigenisation plans by March 31.
But the actions by CZI and ZNCC have the effect of delaying compliance with the law according to Youth, Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Minister Patrick Zhuwao.
“For the first time we now have all financial institutions in Zimbabwe actively submitting their plans on how they will comply. I might see differently in terms of their plans to comply with indigenisation but for the first time we do not have any financial institution which is sitting back and saying let us wait and see,” said Minister Zhuwao.
Minister Zhuwao was addressing a breakfast meeting organised by the Zimbabwe Open University on: New Business Opportunities and Growth in the Context of Indigenisation yesterday.
He said he had noted a worrying trend where the business representative organisations have been channelling falsehoods.
“The most disappointing institutions have been the Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce and the Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries. The Chamber of Mines has not been that bad. Those (CZI/ZNCC) guys have gone out there, we talk about something now they will change when we go out and they are the ones that have been lying to businesses.
“So how can you deal with negative energy? Most of the negative energy is fuelled by falsehoods. So the best way of dealing with it is to communicate directly,” he said.
Minister Zhuwao had no kind words for the ZNCC chief executive officer Chris Mugaga for sending messages that may discourage the organisation’s members from complying with the law.
“If you watched Melting Pot yesterday (Wednesday on ZBC TV) it got quite hot and this is the chief executive of ZNCC (Mugaga) saying ‘we do not believe that Government will revoke licences’.
“What that does is it blows out the process. People will now be saying we do not believe this is going to happen. It would have been easier for him to say ‘guys comply otherwise your licences are gone’. It makes the process much faster,” he said.
As a result of the actions by the representative organisations, Government will from now on engage business directly.
“I have attended four meetings with ZNCC. I want to tell you that I am disappointed with those guys.
“But I will still continue engaging ZNCC but I will now make myself available to engage directly with business because your organisation (ZNCC) is unfortunately distorting the message,” he said.
The number of companies that will have their licenses revoked is very little as most companies have submitted plans to indigenise according to the Minister.
Online Reporter