SABC
Friday 20 April 2012 10:32
Finance Minister Tendai Biti(REUTERS)
The
Zimbabwean government's drive to force foreign businesses to give 51%
of their shareholding to locals will benefit the few black elite and
must be reviewed, Finance Minister Tendai Biti said.
The
controversial so-called empowerment law is already being implemented in
the mining sector, where South Africa's Impala Platinum was forced to
hand over majority shareholding in its Zimplats unit to a state fund,
employees and local communities.
Speaking
at the Atlantic Center, a think tank and public policy group, Biti said
while he agreed on the need for Zimbabweans to participate in the broad
economy, the initiative being spearhead by President Robert Mugabe's
Zanu-PF party would only benefit the black elite.
"The
transfer is for value, which is good, but in a situation where the
majority are poor, you are just transferring shares from a few rich
white people to a few rich black people," said Biti.
"It
wasn't well thought, due process was not followed. We need to go back
to the drawing board and say how can we empower our people. The best way
to empower our people at this present moment in time is to expand our
economy to create as many sectors as possible."
The
exercise is widely seen as a ploy by Zanu-PF to win votes in elections
that must be held by next year with political reforms and a new
constitution in place.
Mugabe
was forced into a power-sharing deal with long-time foe Morgan
Tsvangirai, now the prime minister after the 2008 election, which
Western powers said was marred by Zanu-PF violence and intimidation.
The
government, which plans to have completed the empowerment programme in
the mining sector by the end of this month, has given no indication how
much it plans to pay for any stakes in Zimplats.
Zimbabwe has the world's second largest platinum deposits.
There
is also pressure on the four foreign banks to hand over 51% of their
shareholding, which is being vigorously opposed by both Biti and central
bank governor Gideon Gono.
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