Maravi

(HERALD) NIEEB leading Zim to Promised Land

NIEEB leading Zim to Promised Land
Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Briefs wit

While the Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Programme falls under the responsibility of the Ministry of Youth Development, Indigenisation and Empowerment as articulated in the briefs last Monday, the Act provides for the appointment of a board known as the National Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Board.

The board was set up to work out the modalities on how the majority of Zimbabweans could benefit from the indigenisation programme and advise the responsible Minister. Hence, NIEEB carries the critical mandate to ensure the growth of the economy and empowerment of Zimbabwe’s citizens.

The minister appoints members of the board after consultation with the President. The board should be representative of women, youth, and the differently-abled in addition to the presence of professionals knowledgeable on issues of indigenisation and economic empowerment.

Chairman Mr David Chapfika and chief executive Mr Wilson Gwatiringa are currently at the helm of the NIEEB. This team, with its wealth of experience in the financial services sector, combined with the unwavering commitment, determination and willpower exhibited by Indigenisation and Empowerment Minister Saviour Kasukuwere, certainly have the potential to lead Zimbabweans to the Promised Land where our natural resources will genuinely benefit citizens of this country.

The functions of the board are:

l To advise the minister on the Government’s indigenisation and economic empowerment strategies;

l To advise the minister on appropriate measures for the implementation of the objectives of the Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Act;

l To administer the National Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Fund;

l To oversee compliance with the National Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Charter;

l To perform such other functions as may be imposed or conferred upon the board

l To facilitate the provision of finances for the empowerment programme the Act legislates for the establishment of a fund, to be known as the National Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Fund that will be managed by the NIEEB.

The Fund shall provide funds to indigenous Zimbabweans for share acquisition, share warehousing under employee share ownership schemes or trusts and management buy-ins and buy-outs.

Furthermore, the fund is intended to provide finance for business start-ups, rehabilitation and expansion; to finance market research in connection with the objectives of the Act, and to finance capacity-building projects on behalf of indigenous Zimbabweans.

There is a misconception that the indigenisation and empowerment programme is merely about taking controlling stakes in foreign-owned companies as the Act provides for funding the development of businesses that in some instances have no link to foreigners with the possible exception of companies producing goods for export.

Hence, it should be always be borne in mind that the Act was crafted solely for the promotion of activities that will facilitate the economic empowerment of indigenous Zimbabweans with ceding of majority stake by foreigners being only one part of the equation.

Another major function of the NIEEB is to ensure compliance with the National Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Charter.

Businesses requiring financial assistance provided through the fund should comply with the framework for ethical and good business conduct contained in the charter.

The charter prescribes good corporate governance, the development of a highly competitive, sustainable and industrialised economy, equal opportunities for all, accelerated rural development; development and use of modern science and technology; and sustainable natural resource utilisation.

The charter further calls for the promotion of the use of local raw materials and value addition in economic activities, local research and development and utilisation of indigenous knowledge systems.

Finally, it prescribes the nurturing and development of a skills base for the economic empowerment of indigenous Zimbabweans; and a generic framework for the development of sector-specific charters.

NIEEB has done extremely well in fulfilling part of its broad and critical mandate. Besides appointing the CEO and first line managers it has set up its headquarters in Harare and is in the process of appointing second line managers.

Countrywide consultations have also been carried out to input key stakeholder concerns on the indigenisation and economic empowerment process.

The board has also appointed sector committees in the following divisions: Trading, Education and Sports, Engineering and Construction, Telecommunications and ICT, Arts, Entertainment and Culture, Mines, Transport and Motor Industry, Tourism and Hospitality, Services, Financial Services, Agriculture, Agro Industries, Manufacturing and Energy.

The committees, comprising some of the most distinguished Zimbabweans with expertise in their respective areas, have already submitted sector-specific recommendations for consideration by the Minister.

These recommendations provide a background against which sector charters and the National Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Charter will be crafted.

While progress made on planning the indigenisation of our economy has to be celebrated there are some areas that need to be attended to urgently if the programme is to bear fruit starting with the modalities for financing share acquisition.

The meagre US$5 million allocated to the programme by the Minister of Finance in the 2011 Budget was a major kick in the teeth for the process.

With the money being insufficient for funding the day-to-day functioning of the board how can a majority of Zimbabweans be expected to finance all other areas provided for in the fund?

Hence, NIEEB need to be given the green light to employ other creative ways of raising capital to fund the process. For example, the Government can allow the board to borrow money from the market to finance the programme.

Besides focusing on advising the Government and ensuring compliance from foreign companies NIEEB has to ensure that the majority of Zimbabweans, particularly those on the periphery of economic development like rural-based communities, are made aware and prepared for beneficiation of the process.

Thus, there is need to open regional offices in all the provinces of Zimbabwe and to organise more indigenisation and empowerment awareness sessions where key stakeholder questions, concerns, reservations and fears will be adequately addressed.

This way local communities will be strategically positioned to play a meaningful and rewarding role in the process.

l Kurai Masenyama is Chief Executive Officer of ZvavaBudya Empowerment (Pvt) Ltd t/a ZV Empowerment which specialises in Empowerment Investments and Compliance Advisory Services.

He can be contacted on pmasenyama@yahoo.co.uk or on 077 7 096 334

Labels: INDIGENIZATION AND EMPOWERMENT ACT (ZIMBABWE), NIEEB

posted by MrK @ 5:17 PM