(HERALD) New Bill seeks to consolidate indigenisation

New Bill seeks to consolidate indigenisation
Herald Reporter

THE Mines and Minerals Amendment Bill will be brought to Parliament at the end of this month as Zimbabwe consolidates efforts to facilitate the participation of indigenous citizens in the mainstream economy. The Minister of Indigenisation and Empowerment, Cde Munyaradzi Paul Mangwana, told Senate on Tuesday that the Bill seeks to consolidate the Indigenisation and Empowerment Bill which sailed through Parliament and now awaits assent by the President.

Cde Mangwana said this during the second reading stage of the Indigenisation and Empowerment Bill, which seeks to create an enabling environment for increased participation by indigenous Zimbabweans in the economy.

The Mines and Minerals Amendment Bill seeks to amend the principal Act by creating provisions requiring that Government or indigenous Zimbabweans assume at least 51 percent ownership of all mining companies.

The Minister of Mines and Mining Development, Cde Amos Midzi, will table the Bill during Parliament’s next sitting, which commences on October 30.

Cde Mangwana said this while responding to concerns by Senators as to why the Indigenisation and Empowerment Bill did not provide finer details on the indigenisation of mining companies.

"My brother, the Minister of Mines and Mining Development, will soon be coming to you with the Mines and Mining Amendment Bill and it is that Bill that will address all the indigenisation issues related to mining. We want indigenous Zimbabweans to participate in every sector of the country," he said.

The House of Assembly, which adjourned last Thursday, will resume sitting on October 30, while Senate adjourned yesterday and will resume sitting on November 6.

Parliament adjourned after the passage of various Bills, the most notable ones being Constitutional Amendment Bill (Number 18) and the Indigenisation and Empowerment Bill.

In the last sitting, the Constitutional Amendment Bill, which seeks to harmonise presidential, parliamentary and council elections so that they are held simultaneously, was passed by both Houses.

The Bill — which is historic in the political scenario of the country in that both the ruling Zanu-PF and the two opposition MDC factions closed ranks to pass it unanimously — now awaits assent by the President.

The Constitutional Amendment Bill also seeks to introduce a Human Rights Commission to investigate cases of human rights abuse in line with international standards, and it also provides for the establishment of the post of Deputy Chief Justice.

The Indigenisation and Empowerment Bill, seeking to create an enabling environment for increased participation by indigenous Zimbabweans in the country’s economy, sailed through Parliament and now awaits assent by the President.

The empowerment of indigenous Zimbabweans would be done by requiring that they own at least 51 percent of every business institution.

The Bill generated significant interest in and outside Parliament as some sectors of the economy and legislators expressed reservations about it while others saw it as the only window through which indigenous Zimbabweans could be empowered.

The Electricity Amendment Bill and Warehouse Receipt Bill also sailed through Parliament and now await assent by the President.

The Electricity Amendment Bill seeks to provide stiffer penalties for those who vandalise electricity equipment while the Warehouse Receipt Bill provides for the establishment and registration of warehouses for storage of agricultural equipment as the Government intensifies its agricultural mechanisation programme.