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Prosper Ndlovu Business Editor
PRESIDENT Robert Mugabe’s recent clarification on the implementation of the indigenisation and economic empowerment policy is final and going forward there would not be a need for ministers to interpret it differently, Speaker of Parliament Jacob Mudenda said.

Addressing ministers, legislators and business executives who are attending a two-day ease of doing business seminar in Bulawayo yesterday, Mudenda said investors now have no reason to fear indigenisation as it has been clarified by the Head of State.

He said Parliament would seek to align the empowerment laws with the President’s clarity statement to ensure certainty on investors. “We recommend developing a synchronised indigenisation investment law and its enactment in the context of the Presidential policy statement on indigenisation, which was full of so much clarity, short, sharp and to the point and want the law also to be short, sharp to the point so that when there are changes in ministers we don’t have a minister coming with his own interpretation,” said Mudenda.

As such, he said a review of the indigenisation and economic empowerment law and regulations should also be simplified and clarified. Said Mudenda: “The guidelines and processes for complying with the country’s indigenisation and empowerment policies, should result in consistent policy pronouncements, which will give comfort and confidence to investors”.

He alluded to the sentiments by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in its first staff monitored programme, which stated that, “the recent amendments to the indigenisation law go a long way towards creating an environment that can attract investment”.

In his statement President Mugabe made it clear that the indigenisation policy was not a “one size fits all” garment as it distinguishes three economic sectors, namely natural resources sector, non-resources sector and the reserved sector.

These sectors are to be approached differently in terms of the implementation of and compliance with the indigenisation and empowerment policy. In the natural resource sector indigenous Zimbabweans are designated to hold 51 percent controlling stake with the remaining 49 percent belonging to partnering investors. This provision is non-negotiable.

Under the non-resources sector empowerment credits or quotas are granted to reflect the contribution of investors as agreed upon through negotiations involving relevant line ministries and the private investors. Firms under this category are bound to invest in value addition, transfer appropriate technology to locals and create employment to locals among others. The reserved sectors are set aside for Zimbabwean entrepreneurs. Among these is transport, bakeries, advertising agencies, retail and wholesale and estate agencies.