Mining News Zimbabwe

Zim to relax mine ownership rules

When the Zimbabwean government announced it would relax the indigenisation and economic empowerment regulations in late 2017,it was restricted to the platinum and diamond mining sectors only. But in an interview with Bloomberg, Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube hinted at a broader reach.
Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube
Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube

The development will cement President Emmerson Mnangagwa's reform agenda with focus on unlocking business opportunities in line with the "Zimbabwe is Open for Business" philosophy and the ease of doing business.

"We are removing that indigenisation rule that is discouraging foreign direct investment. Our Zimbabwe is open for business, it can only be open if you're allowed to own 100% of the investment as an investor. You can own 100% of any mining investment, that is what is coming through," said the Minister

The government has also embarked on an international re-engagement exercise in a bid to promote foreign direct investment from all over the world. Following the implementation of the ongoing economic reforms, Ncube said: "Zimbabwe is certainly in a better place on the fiscal front because we are managing to walk the talk on balancing the budget.

"We have recorded a fiscal surplus averaging $100m a month for the last four months, things are looking good, and this is stabilising the currency as well.

Back in the game

"I did say the last time that Zimbabwe is the cheapest buy in Africa because it has just gotten cheaper because we have instituted monetary policy reforms. We have a domestic currency. It is floating. I think we are back in the game again".

Ncube said the government was also getting tough on corruption as it was determined to improve governance in state enterprises.

"We have made an incredible progress in dealing with our state-owned enterprises. For instance, we have separated the Grain Marketing Board into two separate entities; one that is government-controlled and another one that is commercial . . . we have also rebundled Zesa into one entity.

"It used to be five entities and again we are cleaning the governance around that institution. It will be more efficient and will result in better service delivery," he said.

"All the way through we are improving governance and we are tough on corruption. Recently, we removed the previous anti-corruption commission and we are nominating new members and we are going to strengthen that commission."

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