admin
THE indigenisation and economic empowerment programme will continue until all foreign companies operating in the country have complied, Finance and Economic Development Minister Patrick Chinamasa has said.Presenting the 2014 National Budget last week, he said the Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Act, which compels foreign-owned companies to give majority shareholding to locals to economically empower them, will not be amended.
“I reaffirm that the indigenisation laws are here to stay and there will be no amendment to dilute or annul the indigenisation law,” he said.
The Act entails that foreign-owned firms must cede 51 percent shareholding to indigenous Zimbabweans.
He said the confusion over the implementation of indigenisation was because officials had not been speaking with one voice.
“Confusion on indigenisation policy seems to be emanating from different interpretations by policy makers, which interpretations have negatively impacted on the implementation process,” he said.
The law is particularly applied in the mining sector previously dominated by foreign companies. Minister Chinamasa said Government will not tolerate a situation in which some players in the mining sector complied with the law while others did not.
“I want to call upon those companies in the mining sector which have already entered into preliminary agreements, Unki, Mimosa and Zimplats to please complete those agreements.
“We want certainty in this sector and we cannot afford any confusion. And if we bring certainty, then we move forward. The fact that there are companies which have already complied, we cannot allow a player complying and other players being exempted from complying,” he said.
He said outside the natural resources sector were free to choose their local partners.
“Indigenisation policy is about having more companies of our own where Zimbabweans have a controlling interest; Zimbabweans make their decisions which have a bearing on this economy.
“With respect to listed companies, it is about having more such companies whose primary listing is on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange.
“Only when we reach that level will we call this economy Zimbabwean,” said Minister Chinamasa.
Online Reporter