happiness Chikwanha
Lloyd Gumbo and Evelene Taadira
WITH less than a month left before foreigners operating in reserved sectors of the economy vacate the sectors in compliance with the Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Act, pressure groups have called for transparency in the process that will lead to indigenous people taking over the sectors.This comes amid fears that only those who are well-connected will benefit from the exercise.
All foreigners operating in such sectors as retail and wholesale businesses, barbershops, hairdressings, beauty salons, bakeries, employment agencies and grain milling must have vacated the sectors by January 01, 2014.
Government gazetted regulations that make it mandatory for all locally and foreign-owned firms in reserved sectors to apply for indigenisation compliance certificates by January 01, next year. No foreign-owned company would be given the licence and risk being arrested if they do not comply.
Indigenous Businesswomen Organisation president Dr Jane Mutasa said women wanted to benefit from indigenisation of the reserved sectors.
“We want 50-50 in shareholding in those sectors because at the moment a lot of women are selling their wares in the streets. We want transparency in the methods and modalities of replacing those foreigners because once there is no transparency there will be an outcry.
“We want government to sit down with pressure groups that have been championing indigenisation to discuss methods and modalities of how those foreigners must be replaced. We want this exercise to be clean,” she said.
Dr Mutasa said having reserved sectors of the economy was not unique to Zimbabwe as other countries in Europe had such policies.
Affirmative Action Group national president Dr Keith Guzah said they made submissions to government on their proposed modalities but were yet to get a response. He said there was need for people with capacity to take over the sectors.
“Our desire is to have members of AAG whom we have already vetted and have their own resources participate in these sectors to transform our economy. We have a number of people in our books across the sectors of our economy who have the resources and capacity to manage the current business environment.
“There must be transparency on the part of government and there must be engagement of black empowerment organisations that have been agitating for this. We have to put mechanisms in place to ensure that none of our people will be used by the same foreigners as fronts,” said Dr Guzah.
He said a task force must be established comprising indigenous economic lobby groups and government to monitor the exercise.
Upfumi Kuvadiki president Mr Scott Sakupwanya added: “Our people are selling their wares from car boots because they cannot afford high rentals being charged in shops. They do not have the goodwill money in the range of US$25 000 demanded by some landlords.
“We have some foreigners claiming their shops only sell clothes when in actual fact they sell drugs. We do not hate foreigners but we are saying they must move into the production sector as prescribed by the Act.”
Online Reporter