via Government to crack whip on foreign firms February 11, 2014 NewsDay
Government will soon crack the whip on foreign firms fronting locals to register as indigenous companies in order to continue operating in the reserved sectors of the economy, a senior government official has said.
Secretary for Youth, Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment George Magosvongwe warned that it was a punishable criminal offence for any individual or company to misrepresent to the ministry for the purposes of operating in the reserved sectors.
He added that there were various cases where foreigners were fronting locals as owners of entities in the reserved sectors, a move that was punishable by a fine or imprisonment for a period not exceeding five years or both.
Magosvongwe was speaking at the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Indigenisation and Empowerment meeting recently.
“Fronting and the furnishing of false information in the declaration form or provisional indigenisation implementation plan shall be a criminal offence and punishable by a fine not exceeding level 12 or imprisonment for a period not exceeding five years or both,” he said.
Magosvongwe said some sectors of the economy had been reserved for investment by indigenous Zimbabweans and anyone requiring a licence under the Zimbabwe Investment Authority (ZIA) would have to apply for approval from the ministry responsible for the Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Act and the minister responsible for the administration of ZIA.
“We have some of our own people pretending to be owners of the same entities and in certain areas we have observed they are fronting. We reverse the proposals and ordered them to come back to the drawing board to resubmit the correct information,” he said.
Magosvongwe said the reserved sectors were agriculture, primary production of food and cash crops, transportation, passenger buses, taxes and car hire services, retail and wholesale trade, barber shops, hairdressing and beauty salons, employment agencies as well as estate agencies.
The other reserved sectors include valet services, grain milling, bakeries, tobacco grading and packaging, tobacco processing, advertising agencies, milk processing, provision of local arts and craft marketing and distribution.
Government last year gave foreigners operating in the reserved sectors an ultimatum which was expected to expire at the beginning of this year.
The law also compels foreign-owned companies to sell 51% of their shares to locals.
COMMENTS
“Crack the whip”. What a joke.
This isn’t the way to go fools go crack the whip in the government starting with mugabe
Only fools and horses run.What a bunch of morons but the people must stand up and be counted as only they,not the couple of hundred who have pocketed billions,will be able to stop the rot if
ever!!!!
Any investigation on Corruption in zimbabwe must start with mugabe and his family.
Where did he get all the money to become a billionaire.
whe did he get the money tuy houses for his children for his children incuding the one which is hot on the mediac these days in Hong Kong.
Where did his prostitute Disgrace, get all the means to be a multi millionaire overnight, with mines, haulage buisnesses, hotels, elite boarding schools 15 farms.
where did Mugabe”s step son Goreraza get the money to buy farms, mines and all the buisnesses he is running .
How did philip chiyangwa, who was an auxillry police constable in the Ian Smith Government get all the money to be a multiple millionaire and os obsenely rich levels in a sea of poverty in Zimbabwe.
Why did Mugabe carry on aan adulrous affair with This prostitute Grace who was married to Mr Goreraza while his wife sally lay dying .
And how did a leader like mugabe banish Grace”s husband, mary his wife and get him a post in China as a Military attache. (Corruption and Immorality)
Where did Mugabe get all this money to buy 15 farms.
At independepence in 1980 Mugabe was just an ordinary man with not even a teapsoon to his name. Now he and his family have looted Zimbabwe dry.
If Mugabe is so corrupt how do you think his henchman are doing, and how do you believe Mugabe can stamp out any corrution.
AnY corrupt investigations in Zimbabwe MUST START WITH MUGABE AND HIS FAMILY.
ALL THIS TALK ABOUT CUTHBERT DUBE AND THE SMALL FISH PALES INTO NOTHING COMAPRED TO WHAT MUGABE HAS DONE. HE IS A MUDERER, A THIEF,A PERVERT AND AN IMMORAL AND EVIL MAN WHO HAS NO SCRUPLES OR EMPHATHY AND FEELINGS FOR THE SUFFERING PEOPLE OF ZIMABWE.
HOLY MOYO
VANCOUVER BC
A
They don’t know it yet but all this theft will returned to the people of Zimbabwe.Not long now.
Well, if the ‘locals’ haven’t done too well in 34 years – then will they ever do well?
They can try to murder the economy and the country all they want, bu the time is nigh! We coming for you old fools!
I believe that any foreign company should pull out of Zimbabwe forever…and no one in there right mind would invest in zim while the rogue party and illegal president are still in power