Zanu-PF to host breakfast meeting in Mutare

Joseph Madzimure and Yeukai Tazira
ZANU-PF will hold a breakfast meeting in Mutare tomorrow to consult the business community and other stakeholders on how the Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Act should be replaced with a better Economic Empowerment Act as Zimbabwe moves to attract foreign direct investment, Secretary for Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Dr Mike Bimha has said.

In an interview yesterday, Dr Bimha said the party is soliciting views of the business community and various stakeholders in Mutare that will feed into the economic policy that must link with Government’s Vision 2030 agenda.

“What we are having in Mutare tomorrow is a business breakfast meeting, targeted at the Mutare community. We want to ensure the business community and other stakeholders make their input towards the realignment of the indigenisation law.

“We are targeting small and big companies, start-ups, indigenous, multinationals, the whole setup of enterprises we are open to hearing their views. We also want to hear the views of women in business, youth in business and other groupings within our society,” said Dr Bimha.

Dr Bimha said a lot of work has already been done in terms of consultations, what they need now is to concretise the economic empowerment policy and be able to push it through levels that determine its approval.

“We want the indigenisation law to be replaced by a more ‘business-friendly’ Economic Empowerment Act,” he said.
More than 200 delegates are expected to attend the breakfast meeting.

Dr Bimha said: “We are talking about a middle income economy by 2030. As things change in the environment there is need to revise our policy and make sure that it is more attractive to investors.

“Subsequently, the Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Act will be repealed and replaced by the Economic Empowerment Act, which will be consistent with the current thrust ‘Zimbabwe is Open for Business’.”

He added that the Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Act worked to discourage and alienate much-needed FDI and investment as the way it was implemented threatened business.
He said that Zanu-PF has to spearhead policy formulation.

“Because the party is the one that goes to the people and asks for their mandate. The same goes with the President, he goes out with a manifesto and sells himself and the party to the electorate and the electorate then elects the leadership based on what they think they benefit from their policies.

“Then a Government is formed from the party that wins therefore the party is supreme to Government. The people who are actually in Government are people who are seconded by the party. So the party has an important role to make sure they formulate policy which Government can also adopt or use in making legislation,” he said.