By Lucia Mutikani
WASHINGTON, April 19 (Reuters) – The Zimbabwean government’s
drive to force foreign businesses to give 51 percent of their
shareholding to locals will benefit the few black elite and must
be reviewed, Finance Minister Tendai Biti said on Thursday.
The controversial so-called empowerment law is already being
implemented in the mining sector, where South Africa’s Impala
Platinum was forced to hand over majority shareholding
in its Zimplats unit to a state fund, employees and
local communities.
Speaking at the Atlantic Center, a think tank and public
policy group, Biti said while he agreed on the need for
Zimbabweans to participate in the broad economy, the initiative
being spearhead by President Robert Mugabe’s ZANU-PF party would
only benefit the black elite.
“The transfer is for value, which is good, but in a
situation where the majority are poor, you are just transferring
shares from a few rich white people to a few rich black people,”
said Biti.
“It wasn’t well thought. Due process not being followed, we
need to go back to the drawing board and say how can we empower
our people. The best way to empower our people at this present
moment in time is to expand our economy to create as many
sectors as possible.”
The exercise is widely seen as a ploy by ZANU-PF to win
votes in elections that must be held by next year with political
reforms and a new constitution in place.
Mugabe was forced into a power-sharing deal with long-time
foe Morgan Tsvangirai, now the prime minister, after the 2008
election, which Western powers said was marred by ZANU-PF
violence and intimidation.
The government, which plans to have completed the
empowerment program in the mining sector by the end of this
month, has given no indication how much it plans to pay for any
stakes in Zimplats.
Continued…
