Download the Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Act and Statutory Instrument 21 of 2010
The Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Act 14, 2007 was passed by parliament towards the end of 2007, gazetted on March 7, 2008, and was signed into law on April 17 2008. This provided for all companies operating in Zimbabwe to arrange for 51% of their shares or interests therein to be owned by indigenous Zimbabweans.
Download PDF of the Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Act 14, 2007 (230KB).
On January 29, 2010, the Zimbabwe Government published regulations with respect to the Act that include the requirement for companies operating in Zimbabwe to provide specified information to the Minister of Youth Development, Indigenisation and Empowerment, including an indigenisation implementation plan, by April 15, 2010. That information, together with responses from all sectors of the Zimbabwe economy, will be used as a basis for determining what amount less than 51% shall apply to any sector or subsector and the maximum period for achieving indigenization.
March 2nd, 2010 12:09
I read the Ideginisation and Empowerment Act. I agree with the idea of empowering Zimbabweans all the way. Yet I do not think the holding of controlling interests in other people’s firms is a noble idea. Why would the empowerment minister not think about the creation of new wholly owned Zimbabwean firms.
I was a teenager in Rhodesia and carried ammunition in the liberation war from 1776 to 1980. My father was a prison officer. My brother who passed away in December was in the liberation war carrying his gun from 1974 to end of the war. He died a pauper and all the clothes he wore were donated by family members because the country was down.
The reason this happened is we forgot basic principles of business. Successful businesses even state owned enterprises survive due to the type of leadership driving those businesses. Business leaders are not found everywhere like sand. Imposing controlling interests on a business to black Zimbabweans who are not business leaders themselves will simply lead to what happened at the Cold Storage Commission, ZISCO, ARDA, Mhangura and everything ZMDC touched, Education, Health, Defence, Roads Dept, Air Zimbabwe, NRZ, ZESA, DDF and the list is endless. I saw these companies as well oiled organisations in Rhodesia but saw them collapsing due to incompetent and in some cases corrupt BLACK leadership in Zimbabwe.
Competent blacks have on the other hand produced world class giants like Econet Holdings without the need to have an Act like this one. I could go on but before I finish some points on specific points in the ACT.
1. Too much power has been left to the Minister
2. The person who crafted the law has no clue what 90 days will do in business. You can not give a minister 45 days and another 45 days to be THINKING about possible deals. Markets never allow anyone such centuries to decide making a deal.They need to be schooled in the sense of time in the business world.
3.The Act surely would not survive any scrutiny around discrimination.
4. The law is a fast track to taking Zimbabwe out of the business community on the international scene and should be sent back for rewriting with the same intention but with business leaders involved.