adminTinashe Makichi Business Reporter
Government will bring clarity to the country’s Indigenisation and Empowerment policy before the end of this year, Finance and Economic Development Minister Patrick Chinamasa has said.
Speaking at a breakfast meeting organised by The Herald Business and Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries yesterday, Minister Chinamasa said consultations towards strengthening and clarifying empowerment policies in sectors of the economy outside the resource sector have been completed.
“People should know that policy formulation and building consensus on policy formulation is not won in one big battle, but you have to engage in skirmishes, sometimes protracted. People come from different directions both ideological and economic, therefore reconciling those positions is not easy sometimes.
I think we are getting to a point where we should have resolved issues surrounding the Indigenisation policy before Christmas.”
He said Government remained focused on the issue of indigenisation considering the amount of progress made so far.
Minister Chinamasa said regardless of political differences and ideological divergences people should not fight in a manner that scares away investors.
He said: “Capital is a coward which tends to run away whenever there is a misunderstanding or fights.
“It is important that even if we have differences politically, we should not quarrel to a point that scares away investors. Whenever there is a quarrel, investors start thinking that maybe there is political instability in the country.
“We should quarrel at the level of ideas and move away from throwing stones at each other. Once we start throwing stones at each other, capital will automatically fly away,” said the Minister.
Minister Chinamasa said Government will soon gazette the frameworks and procedures for implementing the indigenisation policy in a manner that promotes both investment and eliminates discretionary application of the law.
He said the measures being implemented will contribute towards the ease of doing business and will render the services sector conducive for foreign direct investment
“We have now laid a firm policy framework for the economy to grow and what remains is implementation considering that some of the policies are at various stages of implementation.
“Foreign direct investment remains key to economic growth and I have always stressed that we must not look at FDI in isolation to local investors,” said Minister Chinamasa.
He added that people should stop treating investors with regards to the colour of their skin and nationality.
Minister Chinamasa said all investors are important and should be given equal opportunities for investment.
He, however, said Government would stick to the 51-49 percent rule in the resources sector.
“The position of indigenisation in the resources sector has been clarified on several occasions by President Robert Mugabe.
To reflect that, contribution of designated entities towards our 51 percent shareholding will be effected through the resource being exploited, and at no monetary cost to the Government or the designated entities,” said the Minister.
Online Reporter