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Dosman Mangisi Mining Correspondent
THE Zimbabwe Chamber of Mines says investors have no reason to fear the Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Act after its fine tuning by the government. Describing the Act as “fair and encouraging,” the mining lobby group said Zimbabwe is ripe for investment with the law clarifying all the previously perceived sticking points.

Contributing during a question and answer session at a miners’ workshop in Kadoma last week, a Chamber of Mines official, Pardon Chitsuro, said the indigenisation policy was meant to promote business growth. “The Indigenisation Act is now fair and encouraging. It used to look scary but now the government has made some exemptions, which give options.

“For example, as players in the mining sector we can negotiate with the responsible ministry and in this case the Ministry of Mines and Mining Development on our issues. It’s no longer a big constraint to investors. This adds flexibility,” said Chitsuro. The indigenisation regulation enforces a 51/49 percent shareholding structure in companies that exploit natural resources with locals owning the majority stake.

Former Youth Development, Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Minister Chris Mushowe, now in charge of the Media, Information and Broadcasting Services ministry, has also dismissed investor fears over indigenisation. “There’s no more problem now with the indigenisation and economic empowerment. It’s now far much better than other policies. It’s now harmonious and communities can participate.

“The government has reviewed the policy to make it investor friendly in line with each sector of the economy,” said Minister Mushowe recently before being re-assigned to his new post. “On my recent visit to Cape Town in South Africa, three companies who are in the mining sector confirmed openly that the policy was now fair. These are ABB, Pretoria Portland Cement (PPC) a South African cement manufacturing company and Caledonia, a gold mining company. They all expressed satisfaction.”