Government will expedite a process to amend the Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Act to liberalise most sectors of the economy, Finance minister Patrick Chinamasa has said.
BY TAPIWA ZIVIRA
Presenting the 2018 National Budget, Chinamasa said only the diamond and platinum mining sectors will be affected by the requirement to have at least 51 percent local ownership.
“Government is, through the Finance Bill being submitted to this August House for the 2018 financial year, amending the Indigenisation and Empowerment Act, to bring the following into effect from April 2018:
Extractive Sector
• Diamonds and platinum are the only sub-sectors designated as ‘extractive.’
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• Accordingly, the proposed Amendments will confine the 51/49 Indigenisation threshold to only the two minerals, namely diamonds and platinum, in the extractive sector.
• The 51/49 threshold will not apply to the rest of the extractive sector, nor will it apply to the other sectors of the economy, which will be open to any investor regardless of nationality,”said Chinamasa.