Maravi

(HERALD) Mining giant gives shares to communities

COMMENT - The ZANU-PF dropped a stitch in the PR department. Don't say that shares are given 'to Zimbabweans', because you know what the charge is going to be - they're being given to 'friends and cronies of Mugabe'. Please start mentioning more about the Community Share Ownership Trusts.

This is real indigenisation. It will capitalise pension funds, insurance funds, and local communities.

Mining giant gives shares to communities
Friday, 14 October 2011 00:00
Takunda Maodza Senior Reporter

PRESIDENT Mugabe yesterday officially launched the Chegutu-Mhondoro-Ngezi-Zvimba Community Share Ownership Trust and urged foreign investors to respect Government's policy to economically empower indigenous people. Yesterday's launch at Zimplats is the first such Community Share Ownership Trust in the country.

The trusts are a vehicle for broad-based participation in shareholding in businesses by communities living in areas where the companies exploit natural resources.
Proceeds from such participation are used for the provision of social and economic infrastructure to communities in line with their priorities.

Under the scheme, Zimplats gave 10 percent shareholding to the local community.
It also offered US$10 million to the local community to be disbursed over a three-year period.

The historic development will see communities deriving direct benefits from the operations of the country's biggest platinum mining company.

"This happy event is evidence of Government's movement towards implementing the policy of empowering our people so that they derive greater benefit from the resources of their land as espoused under the Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Act," President Mugabe said.

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He said indigenisation and economic empowerment regulations were in response to the previous exclusion of indigenous people from mainstream economic activity by the colonial regime.

"The policy seeks to broaden the economic base by involving the majority indigenous Zimbabweans in meaningful and gainful economic activity, thus giving greater meaning to our independence and self-determination," explained President Mugabe.

He said since independence, Government's development policies were anchored on the need to democratise economic development and ownership patterns to create an enabling environment to restore the people's dignity and raise their standard of living.

"The majority shareholding underlines the principle of sovereign ownership by the State, on behalf of the people of Zimbabwe of the natural resources of the land.

"It restores the identity of the indigenous people as the rightful owners of the land and its resources.

"Today's launch of the Zimplats Community Share Trust is thus a commendable development in the implementation of our indigenisation and economic empowerment laws," President Mugabe said.

He said the country was endowed with natural resources mined over the years by multinational corporations without benefiting the people.

This, the President added, saw communities relying on Government and donor funding for social and economic infrastructure development.

President Mugabe said corporate responsibility programmes implemented by some businesses tended to reinforce the dependency syndrome.

"Community Share Ownership Trusts are a vehicle for broad-based participation in shareholding in various businesses by our communities. The proceeds from such participation shall be used for the provision of social and economic infrastructure in line with the priorities of the communities concerned such as the provision, operation and maintenance of schools, clinics, dipping tanks, roads, water works, sanitation, soil conservation and prevention of environmental degradation," he said.

The President emphasised that proceeds from community share ownership trusts must be properly accounted for and used in projects that benefit communities.

"These are public goods, public funds, that support public programmes. Traditional leaders should ensure that the programmes arising from the trust are carried out with integrity and benefit the ordinary people within the community," President Mugabe said.

The Head of State and Government and Commander-in-Chief of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces said the indigenisation and empowerment laws were not intended to stifle foreign investment.

He said the economy could not grow if it excluded the participation of the majority.

"I am sure that the communities covered by this Zimplats Trust will derive greater benefit from the developments envisaged by Zimplats for the future. I believe this would include the local beneficiation of platinum through the construction of a refinery," President Mugabe said.

"We would want to see a refinery here. You want to refine our platinum in South Africa where we do not see what is happening so that you can keep the by-products to yourself. Our experts say there are various by-products from the refinery process," he said.

"It (platinum) comprises other minerals including gold, but I wonder how much of those by-products have come back to us.

"We want transparency. It is not just in politics where people should be transparent, but also in business. We are not suggesting that you are dishonest. We are saying let there be a refinery here," President Mugabe said while addressing Zimplats chairman Mr David Brown.

He told Mr Brown that the economic empowerment programme was not a takeover of Zimplats.

"Go tell your shareholders that we do not intend to take over. Mugabe is not very much of a saint in some circles in South Africa. He is quite a devil in Europe and America. We are only saying what is in Zimbabwe is what God gave us. That's ours and that is what Mugabe is saying," the President said.

He reiterated that foreign companies were free to come into Zimbabwe and form joint ventures with locals.

"If you want to make a fortune, come into the country with your equipment and join us as a partner. We have a partnership as a bond that binds all of us. You have your share and we have our share. In Zimbabwe we are the big brother and you are the young brother.
"In our own country we are owners of our natural resources and that position must be respected in economic terms and indeed in political terms."

The President said the Chegutu-Mhondoro-Ngezi-Zvimba Community Trust must serve as a guiding beacon for similar models across the country.

Government has since approved the Marange Community Share Trust and other trusts were being considered.

Zimplats said it was committed to working with communities in the area.

"We are excited in involving communities in the shareholding of the company. The Zimplats board has agreed to fund the operations of the trust to the tune of US$10 million," Mr Brown said.

But President Mugabe said the US$10 million was a drop in the ocean considering the size of Zimplats' operations in Ngezi, saying the figure could go up to US$100 million.

Labels: INDIGENIZATION AND EMPOWERMENT ACT (ZIMBABWE), ZIMPLATS

posted by MrK @ 3:55 PM