Online Reporter
Sikhulekelani Moyo-Zimpapers Business Hub
The Ministry of Industry and Commerce has started implementing the Cabinet directive on the operationalisation and revitalisation of Community Share Ownership Trusts (CSOTs) and reserved sectors.
CSOTs are Government-initiated schemes designed to drive empowerment and local ownership, especially participation in exploitation of finite mineral resources. The initiatives help to drive socio-economic development in mining areas by reinvesting a portion of mining revenues into public infrastructure and social services.
On June 3, the Cabinet considered and approved proposals on the operationalisation of the CSOTs and Reserved Sectors policy.
In Zimbabwe, reserved sectors refer to specific areas of the economy where only Zimbabwean citizens or entities owned by Zimbabwean citizens are permitted to operate or invest, particularly in the context of local empowerment.
Ministry of Industry and Commerce Permanent Secretary Dr Thomas Utete Wushe recently said economic development needed direct participation and benefit for local communities.
“Community Share Ownership Trusts were conceived as a transformative vehicle to correct this imbalance where people come from wherever, extract resources and disappear, leaving the communities, who are the owners of those resources, with nothing to show for economic development,” said Dr Wushe.
“So, the Government is now taking a very deliberate stance in policy positioning, emanating from that Cabinet matrix that we discussed. We need to find ourselves feeding back into that paper, which will ensure that we get a robust mechanism for exploitation of our resources and making sure that our people benefit.”
Through the legislative framework promulgated in 2013, 61 CSOTs were established, with 58 subsequently being registered.
To revitalise them, the Government will undertake a comprehensive review of the implementation framework and provide corporate rescue support to struggling Trusts.
A robust economic empowerment policy and regulations will be developed to ensure effective and transparent management of the Community Share.
Industry and Commerce Minister Mangaliso Ndhlovu is on record saying the frameworks for the CSOTs were developed after it was realised that the exploitation of natural resources in most rural areas, where 70 percent of the indigenous population lives, was not benefiting local communities.
He said that using proceeds from the exploitation of natural resources in their communities, CSOTs were mandated by the Government to serve as vehicles for the socio-economic empowerment of their communities, with chiefs placed at the centre to drive this agenda.
