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Meikles empowerment plan approved

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MEIKLES Limited shareholders yesterday approved the allocation of 10% of the company’s shares to employees

MEIKLES Limited shareholders yesterday approved the allocation of 10% of the company’s shares to employees as the implement part of its compliance with the indigenisation law.

BUSINESS REPORTER

The shareholders approved the resolution at an extraordinary general meeting held in the capital.

The hotel and retail group provisional indigenisation plan has been approved making Meikles Limited provisionally a compliant company with the country’s indigenisation laws.

The shares will be housed under an employee share ownership scheme and the approval will result in Meikles’s provisional indigenisation compliance plan being fulfilled.

The meeting comes two years after the shareholders authorised that 24 million unissued shares be placed under the control of the employee share ownership scheme. The shares then represented 8,91% of the issued share capital.

The Ministry of Youth, Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment has approved the company’s provisional indigenisation implementation plan on condition that 10% of the issued share capital be issued to the trust.

“To meet this condition, a further 4 000 000 shares need to be issued to the Trust in addition to the shares already authorised to be issued as per the August 20 2013 Annual General Meeting. So, in total 19 581 490 shares will be placed under the control of the directors.

“This total together with the 8 418 510 shares already issued to the Trust will constitute 10% of the company’s issued share capital,” the statement read.

“To date finance has been secured for the Trust to purchase 8 418 510 shares in the company and for the scheme to purchase 12 812 381 shares in the company.

“It has not been possible to secure additional financing for both the Trust and the Scheme to purchase their full entitlement.

“Shareholder approval is now being sought for the company to finance the purchase of the balance of both the Trust and the Scheme’s shares in the company.” Meikles said the company would extend assistance if the funds on deposit held by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe were repaid.

The central bank owes Meikles $76,5 million dating back to 1998.

The debt was accrued from transactions related to the group’s dual listing on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange and the London Stock Exchange.