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Businesses should ignore Kasukuwere's notice
Prime Minister's Office
April 05, 2012

The Minister of Youth Development, Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment today issued a notice announcing that all mining firms that had not complied with the indigenisation regulations by the September 2011 deadline should assume that 51 per cent of their shares and proceeds of their transactions now belongs to the Government with effect from that date.

The Prime Minister would like to inform the public that there is no such Government position. That issue has not been discussed and agreed upon by Government. The Prime Minister wishes to inform the public in general and mining firms in particular that the inclusive Government has not sanctioned the Minister's actions that are a threat to investment in the industry.

The Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Act does not empower the Minister to unilaterally nationalise private entities and there is no reason to create panic among investors by projecting the image of a voracious government keen to grab compulsorily people's companies without compensation. It is not the policy of this Government to nationalise the mining businesses or any other business.

The Prime Minister of Zimbabwe has executive powers and the Constitution of Zimbabwe bestows him with the authority to oversee and supervise "policy formulation and implementation." The Government forum that deals with implementation of Government policy is the Council of Ministers, which has not discussed or approved the purported Government position captured in the public notice.

The Prime Minister notes with concern that the Minister chose not to attend the Council of Ministers on Tuesday, an executive forum of Government, only to surreptitiously publish a notice with far reaching economic consequences without consensus.

The Prime Minister would like to inform mining entities that, should anyone or any institution be it private or public, attempt to enforce Minister Kasukuwere's pronouncements, they would be doing so unlawfully and without the mandate of the Inclusive Government.

The Prime Minister takes a serious view of the Minister's attempts to incite the public to act unlawfully against mining businesses. The Minister's statement poses a real risk of creating anarchy in the industry and the PM will take corrective measures within the proper fora and channels of Government.

National economic interests of Zimbabwe demand a proper policy that creates jobs for the millions of unemployed people in the country. They want massive investment in the country and not a political campaign platform that will only benefit the elite at the expense of the majority of the people in the country.

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