via ‘Elite to benefit from indigenisation’ – NewsDay Zimbabwe January 26, 2016
THE elite will benefit from the indigenisation crusade as the ordinary people do not have the resources to participate in the implementation of the indigenisation law, an economist has said.
BY BUSINESS REPORTER
Phineas Kadenge, senior lecturer and chairperson of the Economics Department at the University of Zimbabwe, told NewsDay yesterday that indigenisation should benefit the disadvantaged in society.
“The already privileged are the ones likely to benefit from indigenisation. We saw this with the land reform programme. The elite benefited from the programme.
Access, while it is important, is not sufficient. Unless there is a deliberate effort to provide resources for weak members of the society, indigenisation will be for the elite,” he said.
The fast-track land reform programme, which began in 2000, saw prime land fall in the hands of a few politically-connected people and brought in multiple farm owners.
Reports say a new land audit, to be embarked on, will now target land use and not multiple farm owners.
Kadenge said the indigenisation policy was not unique to Zimbabwe, but was tried in Nigeria in the ’60s.
It benefited the elite and the poor were excluded.
He said concerns with the Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Act include policy inconsistencies, difficulties of doing business, protection of reserved sectors, inflexibility of the legislation and inadequate capital to purchase the shares.
“A lot of discretionary powers are in the Act and there is need for checks and balances and it can be onerous to have huge discretionary powers,” Kadenge said.
He said while it was good to have the reserved sectors, there were fears that locals would front for foreigners.
The new framework has set aside 14 sectors reserved for locals.
Companies are expected to submit their implementation plan for the Indigenisation Act by March.
Speaking at a meeting recently, Youth, Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment minister Patrick Zhuwao said the law had not changed and had to be implemented.
The Indigenisation Act stipulates that at least 51% shareholding in foreign-owned companies, with a capital base of $500 000 operating in Zimbabwe should be in the hands of locals.
The Act came into being in 1998 and was revised in 2004.
Analysts say the legislation scares away potential investors needed to reboot the economy.
COMMENTS
Define the “elite.” Thieving, lying, greedy swine who think that they can take anything they want without paying a penny. How have they managed to obtain such wealth? Not by hard work. That’s for sure.
10% levy? Thats quite a chunk of any buisiness’s profit margin.Utter madness.
The tribal induna zhuwao complete with dread locks seekumba loin cloth and spear wants 10% of income not PROFIT.
To pay for the next Singapore holiday haha!!
Elite are corrupt and cruel. If life was sold and bought others would not die in the next million years since what they managed to steal is enough to buy that. However life is only given at the pleasure of the creator. ZANU PF and all the Elite connected to ZANU PF unfortunately will just die like any other man on this planet. They have impoverished the entire country through changes to the legislation simple because of fear of the opposition. They land had always been available from 1980 but when their real threat came in 1999, they woke up and started stitching laws that undermined the very people they were supposed to serve as civil government. Many people died for a simple cause of freedom, but they are bound again. They fought for the land, but they are now landless again. They fought for better lives in a democratic society, they are now poor and worse off than 60 years back, no freedom worse than the Smith Regime. All in the hand of the liberators, ZANU PF. ZANU PF is worse than Smith Regime, Mugabe and partners they got their education while in prison, now the prisoners can not even eat adequate food, sleep on warm respectable beds let alone clothed decently and getting any kind of education. Basically all political prisoners are killed behind bars if at all they got any trial before they are killed.
Of course the Land Grab and Indigenisation are solely there to benefit the already rich Mafia.
And you are right, Mugabe and the others studied for degrees while in prison in “The Terrible Regime” Unthinkable now
I am old enough to have known Federation, Rhodesia and Zimbabwe and t me it has been a downward spiral. Indeed, Zimbabwe is worse than Rhodesia in almost every way. Just ask old (black) people.