Maravi

(NEWZIMBABWE) MDC-T ‘quietly’ urging investors to leave - Bennett

COMMENT - How about permanently deporting Roy Bennett to South Africa, or even better, Australia? Let him try and sabotage Zimbabwe from a few thousand miles away.

MDC-T ‘quietly’ urging investors to leave: Bennett
by Staff Reporter
27/03/2011 00:00:00

SENIOR MDC-T official Roy Bennett has revealed that the party was putting pressure on investors to quit Zimbabwe and particularly targeted London-listed financial services group Old Mutual which has significant interests in the country.

Bennett – who is the party’s treasurer general -- attended a fund managers’ conference in Cape Town, South Africa, where he blasted Old Mutual over its involvement in Marange diamond mining and the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange-listed Zimbabwe Newspapers group.

Bennett said the MDC-T had “quietly, behind closed doors” asked Old Mutual to “quit its blood-stained investment (in Marange)” adding he was forced to speak publicly because the firm had “not listened … (to) our grievances”.

Old Mutual confirmed an indirect interest in Mbada Diamonds “of 1.5 percent via the South African recycling group New Reclamation”.

Mbada Diamonds is a joint venture with the Zimbabwe government that has less than 10 percent of the controversial Chiadzwa diamond fields, the company said. Old Mutual insisted that “to date we have not received any proceeds from this indirect investment.”

But Bennett said Old Mutual’s involvement was a “shame” compounded by the “fact that proceeds from sales of these blood diamonds are being used by Zanu-PF to unleash another bout of political violence on ordinary Zimbabweans”.

“The whole thing stinks. Old Mutual, a listed company, should not be involved with the illegal dealing of diamonds,” Bennett said.

The exiled MDC-T official also took issue with Old Mutual’s 18 percent interest in Zimpapers which is majority-owned by the state and publishes The Herald and The Chronicle newspapers, among other titles.

Bennett said by retaining the shareholding in Zimpapers, Old Mutual was associating itself, on a daily basis, with “the daily spewing of hate speech”.

Old Mutual explained that the investment was a legacy from the past with analysts noting the company was having ‘difficulties’ selling down its holding since there were no buyers.

However, Bennett suggested the company “should cut its losses and get out”.

Labels: NEOCOLONIALISM, ROY BENNETT, SABOTAGE, SANCTIONS, SELOUS SCOUTS

posted by MrK @ 2:53 PM