FOLLOWING the 45-day deadline
announced by the Government for
mining companies to comply with
the indigenisation and economic
empowerment regulations, mining
fi rms have started submitting
their proposals, an offi cial said this
week.
In an interview with The Patriot,
Minister of Youth Development,
Indigenisation and Empowerment,
Saviour Kasukuwere, confi rmed
that most mining companies had
submitted their recommendations
to his ministry and that some had
already complied.
Government issued a notice on
March 25 giving mining companies
45 days to provide plans on
how they would comply with the
indigenisation laws that seek to
give stakes of at least 51 percent to
locals and as of yesterday, Government
was in the process of compiling
the list of the mining fi rms that
have submitted their proposals.
Minister Kasukuwere said the response
from foreign-owned mining
companies was overwhelming.
He said Kazakh mining group
ENRC had fully complied with the
law and expressed hope that more
companies would soon follow suit.
“This week has been a hectic one
for us as we have been receiving
submissions from mining fi rms
and I can tell you that ENRC has
fully complied with the requirements
and we are optimistic that
more will follow suit,” he said.
He said even the MDC-T was
now beginning to embrace the
programme with a senior member
of the party, Tapiwa Mashakada,
throwing his weight behind the
programme at a meeting in the
capital.
“The indigenisation drive is a national
programme and the MDC-T
have no choice, but to support the
programme,” said Minister Kasukuwere.
“Today (yesterday) we heard
Mashakada throwing his weight
behind the programme and this is
a sign that party politics is no longer
taking precedence over national
interests.
“He even suggested an audit of
the untapped mineral resources
that the country has.”
Earlier in the week, Minister
Kasukuwere told The Patriot that
his Ministry had started receiving
submissions from mining fi rms in
the country.
“Most of the major mines are
with us and they are co-operating,
so what is left is for us to evaluate
the substance of their co-operation
to see if it meets our expectations,”
Minister Kasukuwere said.
“Although 45 days have passed,
the closing date is not today, because
it is 45 days excluding public
holidays and weekends, this calculation
would extend the deadline to
June 2.
“Foreign mining companies then
have until September 30 to comply
with the law and surrender 51 percent.”
Minister Kasukuwere said Government
would not pay cash for the
mining stakes, but would look into
the proposals made by the mining
fi rms before making a determination
on the way forward.
He said Government would take
into consideration the amount of
state’s ownership of the country’s
untapped mineral wealth.
Although the exact number of
fi rms that have submitted their
proposals could not be ascertained
at the time of going to print, it is
believed that Angloplat and Implats
Kazakh mining group ENRC
and Zimbabwe Mining and Smelting
Company (Zimasco), which is
owned by Sinosteel of China, are
some of the companies that have
submitted their local ownership
proposals.
An offi cial in the Ministry confi
rmed the development but refused
to divulge more information
saying companies were still submitting
their proposals.
“It is true that we have started
receiving submissions from foreign-
owned companies and I can
tell you that the response is overwhelming,”
said the offi cial.
“I cannot divulge more information
since it is still an ongoing process
and we will shortly be making
an announcement to the public on
the developments.”