FOREIGN-OWNED mining companies that complied with the country’s empowerment laws will this year pay out dividends to communities they save in a bid to meet Millennium Development Goals, indigenisation and empowerment minister Saviour Kasukuwere has said.
Chief Business Reporter
Addressing delegates at the signing ceremony of an empowerment agreement between platinum miner Zimplats and government, Kasukuwere defended the controversial policy saying it would be broad-based.
Most major foreign-owned mining firms have already partially complied with the empowerment legislation that compels the firms to cede 51% stakes to locals.
The mining companies have relinquished 10% to community ownerships. “Our emphasis on broad-based participation has clearly shown that the indigenisation programme in the main does not benefit elite indigenous persons, but rather broad groups of indigenous Zimbabweans,” said Kasukuwere.
“To date, my ministry has achieved for communities around the country value in the form of shares in mining companies in excess of $1 billion. Apart from this capital value to communities, the trusts will henceforth begin to benefit from annual dividends declared by mining companies. In addition, more than $110 million has been pledged or paid out to community share trusts by mining companies as seed capital for initial community projects.”
Zimplats, a unit of Johannesburg Stock Exchange-listed Impala Platinum in 2011, became the first major mining company to seal a deal with government.
Under the transaction, the National Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Fund will own 31% shareholding and the firm’s employee share ownership scheme and local community ownership trust will hold 10% apiece.
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“In addition to the above, more than 800 companies in our database have proposed shares to employees through employee share ownership schemes. This in itself will benefit hundreds of thousands of workers throughout the country as part owners of business. It is, therefore, apparent that the greatest beneficiaries of the programme to date are not well-to-do individuals, but broad-based masses,” Kasukuwere said.
Other mining companies that have already concluded empowerment deals with government, according to Kasukuwere, include Mimosa, Unki Mine, Blanket Mine, PPC, BAT, Old Mutual, Meikles Africa and Ecobank. Also speaking at the same function, National Indigenisation and Empowerment Board chairman Mike Nyambuya said the conclusion of the Zimplats transaction was expected to boost the value of assets held by the empowerment fund.
Nyambuya said since 2010, more than 1 300 foreign-owned firms had submitted their compliance plans. He added that out of these, 350 had been approved.
