Youths urged to target reserved indigenisation sectors
Posted by By Professor Tshuma at 12 October, at 18 : 20 PM
YOUTHS must invest in the reserved sectors on indigenisation and start small business awaiting the responsible board to make available funds to buy shares in the large capital requiring investments, it has been said.
Addressing delegates at the indigenisation workshop in Vumba last week, National Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Board (NIEEB) Chairman David Chapfika said it was imperative that youths take advantage and invest in sectors that were reserved for indigenous people, while waiting for the NIEEB to avail funds to them so that they can buy shares in the large capital requiring businesses.
“Youths as they are saying they do not have money, must take advantage and invest in the sectors reserved for locals awaiting for the NIEEB board to avail funds so that they can buy shares in the much talked mines,” he said.
The reserved sectors are milk processing, taxes, bus transport, car hires, bakery, cash crops saloons and barbers among others.
He said the sectors need little income so youths must take advantage and avoid letting off the investment opportunities saying they need large investment opportunities.
Chapfika also noted that there is need to accelerate rural development and make sure that the folks get the average benefit because they suffered a lot during the liberation struggle in order to take control of the natural resources.
“We do not have to ignore the rural folks because they are mostly the ones who suffered the negativities of the liberation struggle so they must benefit from the resources around the country,” he said.
He said there was also need to give visible empowerment to the learning institutions so that the country prepares for itself a vibrant human resource which would manage the investments that the country has.
This, Chapfika noted, would create a long term investment in the human resource which will last for a long time in full beneficiation.
He said the human resource infrastructure was very critical in the implementation of the indegenisation drive which was spearheaded to make sure that there is total emancipation of the indigenous people.
“We must not just indigenise the natural resources but we must also make sure that we groom the relevant infrastructures in the form of human resources in the learning institutions so that we have everything controlled locally by locals,” he said.
Chapfika said unity in defence of the national sovereignty must prevail as the country indigenises its resources as the environment prevalent was hostile.
Meanwhile, Chapfika explained the mandate of his board saying it does several things, chief among them being mobilization of resources to capacitate communities and give support and technical advice to the minister to implement the indigenisation.
NIEEB was formed on December 24 in 2009 to spearhead the indigenisation programme and make sure that locals own at least 51 percent of the shares in the foreign owned companies and archive the broad based empowerment.
Labels: DAVID CHAPFIKA, INDIGENIZATION AND EMPOWERMENT ACT (ZIMBABWE), NIEEB, YOUTHS
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Indigenisation a success: Chapfika
Thursday, 29 September 2011 02:00
Golden Sibanda Senior Business Reporter
NATIONAL Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Board chairman Mr David Chapfika says the indigenisation process has largely been a success, three years after the law setting it up came into effect. But he told Herald Business in an interview the initiative was
"a process" that would span generations.The fact that the process of ensuring participation of local people in the mainstream economy had started was in itself "a resounding success", he said. Mr Chapfika said the fact that Government moved to enact the Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Act of 2008 was a milestone.
Under the law all foreign-owned firms in Zimbabwe or wishing to invest here are required to sell at least 51 percent of their equity to indigenous people.
There has been general consensus among stakeholders in Government, the private sector, the investment community and the general populace that locals should take ownership of the means of production.
Apart from squabbling over the form and model the indigenisation process should take, Mr Chapfika said everyone conceded that the initiative was noble.
"In terms of indigenisation, a number of major mining companies have submitted their indigenisation plans. Whether we have accepted, rejected or are discussing them, the concept has been agreed and no one has rejected it," he said.
Zimbabwe's biggest platinum producers, Zimplats and Mimosa, lead the list of major mining firms that have since submitted plans to indigenise ownership.
Acquisition deals involving Masawara Plc and BP and Shell, Engen Corporation and Chevron Zimbabwe, Schweppes Zimbabwe and Coca-Cola Africa, Costain Zimbabwe Incorporated and Costain Africa and Old Mutual Zimbabwe largely had an indigenisation influence to them.
He cited community share ownership trusts and employee share schemes as cases in point that reflect the successes of the indigenisation process.
Under these schemes, communities in which mining firms operate will have a 10 percent stake, while the workers of these companies will own at least five percent equity.
The Ministry of Youth Development, Indigenisation and Empowerment has visited some of the mining communities to educate them on how they stand to benefit under community and employee share ownership schemes.
Government has directed that no foreign investor should be allowed to operate in certain specific economic sectors, which are reserved for indigenous people.
Such areas include retail and wholesale, real estate, dry cleaning, hair salons, commuter transport, grinding mills, tobacco grading and processing among others unless granted a special dispensation by the State.
All foreign-owned companies are required, in terms of the law, to procure 50 percent of the consumables through local firms.
Mr Chapfika said locals were already benefiting in this regard. It was up to locals to ensure foreign-owned firms list them among their suppliers. These factors rank as benchmarks of the success of indigenisation, he said.
There has been serious concern among investors regarding the implications of indigenisation.
There is a perception that the drive was designed to grab foreign-owned assets. The suspicion was that the intention was not a sincere plan at a broad-based economic empowerment of Zimbabweans..
The suspicion has affected trading on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange, which has mostly traded through low due to investor apprehension.
In recent weeks foreign investors have been quitting the bourse.
There is also a general sentiment of uncertainty among foreign investors on indigenisation and empowerment in relation to the Government's final position.
This has resulted in limited foreign direct investment into Zimbabwe.
Most of this has been inspired by the general uncertainty in the ultimate political direction of the country.
The commitment to democracy, for instance, has not been established solidly, even with the creation of the unity government, in whch Zanu PF and the two opposition parties are assumed to wield wequz power.
The process has also faced major challenges in terms of funding to support Government's broad-based economic empowerment.
Out of the US$5 million allocated for indigenisation under the 2011 National Budget only US$810 000 has so far been released for the programmes.
"We appreciate the fiscal challenges that Government is facing," he said. "But we feel it is not giving the indigenisation process the priority it deserves."
To address the challenges around funding NIEEB was pushing for legislation that allows it to borrow from the markets through prescribed asset pape, he said.
NIEEB is also advocating legislation that allows it to pool funding resources by effecting an indigenisation levy to fund the empowerment initiative.
Labels: DAVID CHAPFIKA, INDIGENIZATION AND EMPOWERMENT ACT (ZIMBABWE), NIEEB
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‘National cake will be shared equally’
EVER since Government launched the consolidated indigenisation drive, making it mandatory for foreign investment worth more than US$5000 000 to cede 51 percent to indigenous people, detractors of the programme have called it chaotic and lacking vision. Industry and International Trade Minister Welshman Ncube recently said the programme had been shelved due to what he called teething problems. FEATURES EDITOR ISDORE GUVAMOMBE (IG) talks to National Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Fund chairman Mr David Chapfika (DC) about this and other issues involving indigenisation.
IG: It is almost a year since you were appointed chairman of the National Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Fund. Industry and International Trade Minister Welshman Ncube was quoted in the media recently as saying the indigenisation process had been shelved. Is that true?
DC: No, no, no! I respect him as a Cabinet minister but I would also want to believe he was misquoted and I hope he was misquoted. I don’t expect Ncube to say that because as Cabinet minister, that decision was passed with his support and I am reliably informed that the decision to indigenise was unanimous. Cabinet was unanimous. I am very much aware that by saying that Ncube would be opposing himself and the people of Zimbabwe. Honestly, my first reaction when I read the story was that he was misquoted because he is aware that there is no going back on that programme. If you want to be an enemy of the people of Zimbabwe, then oppose indigenisation. So I still hope he did not say it.
IG: There are also others saying the process has been chaotic . . .
DC: No, no, no! They don’t know what they are talking about. You see, anything that is good is bound to attract criticism. There are some people who were born greedy, people who are greedy and don’t want to see others come in to share the national cake. When the whites took over everything in Rhodesia they did it to enrich themselves and to dehumanise the blacks. So what do you expect from them? We were more of servants as they wanted us to be workers only. Only a few blacks were assimilated on patronage and not on competence. We were prejudiced for almost a century. So, any reasonable Zimbabwean would never oppose the indigenisation programme. We don’t mind people coming up with valuable criticism and ideas.
IG: Let us move to funding. How much is the indigenization supported by the fiscus?
DC: Well, we were only allocated US$5 million in the 2011 Budget announced by Minister Tendai Biti and obviously that is not adequate for our day-to-day operational costs.
IG: What about funding for the real projects?
DC: There was nothing and there is nothing we can do to raise funds at the moment because there is no legal support in terms of statutory instruments. We cannot issue bonds at the moment and we cannot collect levy. I am sure by February the Government will have issued the enabling statutory instruments to enable us to collect levy and to borrow money through the prescribed asset route. It is only through that, that we will only be able to fund our operations.
IG: Have you not received any funding from Government ever since you started?
DC: We received US$1 million from Government and some banks have been sympathetic and providing us with bridging finance. We remained thin, throughout the year. We needed cars, offices and furniture. We needed to recruit staff. That means we needed capital.
IG: There are black farmers who got land under the land reform or under earlier resettlement schemes or those who were spared from the land reform who are now leasing out the land. What is your position?
DC: It is a serious problem that falls under the Minister of Lands but it is clear that these people do not deserve the land, in the first place. They are breaking the law. They are reversing the gains of the struggle and the struggle was centred on regaining the land, on regaining the control of the economy of this country and on regaining our dignity as black people. I am sure the minister will deal with that.
IG: In terms of real work, what have you done to justify your mandate?
DC: You remember that January will be our first anniversary. We are implementing broad-based economic indigenisation. We have consulted everyone who matters, I mean all stakeholders as we have no monopoly over ideas. We have covered a lot of ground.
IG: What about real work?
DC: Well, we have made an organogram and recruited and filled all positions. We are going to be dealing with all sectors of the economy so we have general managers for the five key departments and we have recruited the IT, public relations and human resources managers, as well. We are now ready to roll. So as soon as those statutory instruments are gazetted we start serious work. Those we have hired need offices, furniture, cars and salaries. That means we urgently expect money.
IG: Can you explain how you are going to make sure that the same people who benefited from previous black empowerment programmes do not benefit at the expense of ordinary or other people?
DC: These are public funds and we cannot allow people to exploit others. Every Zimbabwean, regardless of political affiliation, is entitled to benefit. We will have a data base that will capture every beneficiary. This is why we have recruited people in IT and we will tell people that they have already had their share. This does not mean that we are closing our people who benefited before but we are saying we are going to share fairly, the national cake.
isadore.guvamombe@zimpapers.co.zw
Labels: DAVID CHAPFIKA, INDIGENIZATION AND EMPOWERMENT ACT (ZIMBABWE), INTERVIEW, ISDORE GUVAMOMBE
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Indigenisation board to probe foreign-owned banks
By: TSM-TZG
Posted: Sunday, November 14, 2010 3:59 pm
Indigenisation board to probe foreign-owned banks | National Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Board, NIEEB, foreign-owned banks, externalising proceeds, David Chapfika, indigenisation and economic empowerment act, saviour kasukuwere
THE National Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Board (NIEEB) has launched a probe into the conduct of some financial institutions after it emerged that some foreign-owned banks are externalising proceeds generated from local business.
Some banks are lending a small percentage of their proceeds to locals while the bigger chunk of deposits is finding its way outside the country’s borders, according to a report published in the weekly newspaper, The Sunday Mail.
NIEEB has since launched investigations into the allegations, while a report would soon be presented to Government.
NIEEB chairperson Mr David Chapfika last week confirmed that sector committees that were put in place to advise Government on indigenisation issues noted that some foreign-owned banks were taking a backseat in the development of local projects.
Mr Chapfika said 30 percent of deposits were being issued as loans to local companies.
“What we want to understand is where the rest of the money is going.
“We noted that in the financial service sector we have more indigenous banks.
“But in terms of business, the foreign-owned banks are lending only 30 percent of their deposits. Where is the 70 percent going?
“It has been observed that money is being lent to other countries at the detriment of Zimbabwe,” said Mr Chapfika.
Mr Chapfika said NIEEB had gathered data from sector committees set up to look into the indigenisation of the economy.
The sector committees include financial services sector, arts and entertainment sector, mining, transport and motor industry, communications, education, sports and culture.
The sector committees were established to deal with issues such as the minimum net asset value threshold above which a business in the sector is required to comply with empowerment regulations.
The committees also look at policies to overcome barriers and challenges to indigenisation.
They also recommend sector-specific indigenisation and economic empowerment strategies for consideration by the NIEEB.
Mr Chapfika said there was agreement that the economy needed to be indigenised as soon as possible by following the maximum five-year stipulated timeframe.
“We have now received input from the 13 sector committees and subsector committees. We are now finalising the compilation of a composite report,” said Mr Chapfika.
Labels: DAVID CHAPFIKA, INDIGENIZATION AND EMPOWERMENT ACT (ZIMBABWE), SAVIOUR KASUKUWERE
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Chapfika chairs Indigenisation Board
Herald Reporter
President Mugabe has approved the appointment of the National Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Board as provided for by the Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Act.
The 13-member board has representatives from interest groups, indigenisation and empowerment experts and other key sectors such as women, youth, the disabled and ministries of Economic Planning and Investment Promotion, Mines and Mining Development and Industry and Commerce.
Former Member of Parliament and Deputy Minister of Finance and Economic Development and later Agriculture Mr David Chapfika will chair the board.
Mr Chapfika is an indigenisation and empowerment expert, who is a professional banker. He has worked for several banks in Zimbabwe and carried out international banking consultancy for the World Bank.
Other members of the board include Dr Ellen Gwaradzimba, Ms Sitholakele Masuku, Mr Adam Molai, Ms Sheila Sidambe, Engineer Musanhu — all indigenisation and empowerment experts — and Mr Thankful Musukutwa, the Secretary in the Ministry of Mines and Mining Development.
Other board members are Mr Prince Mupazviriho, Secretary in the Ministry of Youth Development, Indigenisation and Empowerment, Mr Spencer Chihota representative of the youth; Mr Farai Mutamangira, a lawyer; Dr Desire Sibanda from the Ministry of Economic Planning and Investment Promotion.
There is also Mr Dayford Nhema from the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, and Mr T. Mungoni, who is the national research and advocacy officer for the National Association of Societies for the Care of the Disabled..
The board is expected to spearhead the implementation of the indigenisation and economic empowerment objective of achieving the 51 percent indigenous stake in all major companies of the economy.
Addressing the appointees after making the announcement yesterday, Youth Development, Indigenisation and Empowerment Minister Saviour Kasukuwere said the objectives of the board are to advise the minister on the Government’s indigenous and economic empowerment strategies.
It should also advise the minister on appropriate measures for the implementation of the objectives of the Act and the National Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Fund. It will oversee compliance with the charter and perform other functions as may be permitted or required or conferred to the board under the Act or any other enactment.
The rationale for indigenisation and economic empowerment was premised on the realisation that the majority of Zimbabweans had a natural right to benefit from the exploitation and utilisation of the country’s resources.
Minister Kasukuwere said indigenous economic empowerment was the only sustainable way of achieving socio-economic and political stability.
"This strategy calls for mutually beneficial partnerships between indigenous Zimbabweans and foreign investors. I think time has come for us to reject unfounded claims that our minerals have no value yet day and night we see truckloads of granite stone leaving the country and our poor communities just watch with no benefit accumulating to them," he said.
The minister warned the board members against corruption saying this would affect the main objective of empowering indigenous Zimbabweans.
Labels: DAVID CHAPFIKA, NATIONAL INDIGENISATION AND ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT BOARD - ZIMBABWE
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