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Golden Sibanda Harare Bureau
AN attempt by some shareholders of Mwana Africa to recall two Zimbabwean non-executive directors from the board flopped after their requisition for a general meeting failed to garner enough support. Ian Dearing and other shareholders had filed notices for a general meeting of the company under section 302 of the Companies Act 2006.

The requesitioners required at least five percent majority votes to cause the meeting to consider recent changes to non-executive directors of the board; Herbert Mashanyare and Ngoni Kudenga.

Kudenga and Mashanyare come from Zimbabwe where Mwana Africa Plc, listed on Alternative Investment Market of the London Stock Exchange, derives its main operations and revenues. Mwana Africa Plc holds majority interest in Zimbabwe-based integrated nickel miner and processor Bindura Nickel Corporation and the country’s second largest producer of gold, Freda Rebecca.  Since the required five percent majority could not be secured, there will not be an extraordinary general meeting of the company today while the structure of non-executive directors will not be tampered.

Mwana said it had investigated validity of the requisition for the EGM and concluded that following withdrawal from the requisition by one of the original parties, there was insufficient support for the meeting.

“The requesitioners don’t have sufficient support, at the current time, to require directors to convene a meeting under the Act,” Mwana said.

Mwana Africa said yesterday that correspondence had been received from solicitors acting for Dearing disputing the company’s position, and threatening to attempt to try and convene a meeting of the shareholders directly under section 305 of the Act.

“This position is rejected by the company, which has reserved all its rights in the event of an attempt by Dearing to convene a general meeting on the basis of the current level of support for the requisition.”

Mwana Africa said early last month that the requisition was not from Yat Hoi Ning and China International Mining Group who earlier took the company to court alleging irregularities on election of some directors, including Mashanyare and Kudenga. A meeting was held in January for a hearing at the Companies’ Court in respect of the matter brought by CIMG, a substantial shareholder and Yat Hoi Ning, an associate of the Chinese company. The petition related to the passing of a resolution at the company’s annual general meeting last year for appointment of Stuart Morris as a non-executive director, which CIMG said was irregular. Later, leave was given for the petitioners to file an amended submission seeking to also challenge the appointment of Mashanyare and Kudenga as non-executive directors of the board.