The Sunday News
THE Ministry of Youth, Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment has embarked on a consultation drive aimed at gathering information to be used in the anticipated revised Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment (IEE) policy.
Addressing the business community at the Midlands Business Conference in Gweru last Friday, the director of Human Resources in the Ministry of Youth, Indigenisation and Economic Development, Mr Simon Masanga, said as of December last year, 1 471 indigenisation applications had been processed of which the manufacturing and mining sectors constituted 48 and 38 percent, respectively.
The indigenous participants in these indigenisation transactions were employees, communities, individuals, consortia of indigenous Zimbabweans, indigenous entities such as the Pension Funds and the National Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Fund and Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation.
“Employee Share Ownership Trusts (ESOTs) proved to be an effective way of empowering a broad-based spectrum of indigenous Zimbabweans. Since 2012 Schweppes, Blanket Mine and BAT employees have received more than $1,5 million in dividends through ESOTs.
“Sixty-one Community Share Ownership Trusts were established and registered with the Deeds Office countrywide. Sixteen are operational and implementing developmental and community empowerment projects. A total sum of $31 million seed capital was received by the Trusts from the qualifying businesses,” Mr Masanga said.
He said through Indigenisation and Economic and Empowerment more than 700 companies in the reserved sectors had been certified to date.
Mr Masanga said the Ministry would continue to implement the IEE programme as it was the bedrock upon which the Zimbabwe Agenda for Sustainable Socio Economic Transformation was anchored.He, however, hinted that his Ministry had embarked on a consultation drive to “improve” the legislation.
“We are saying there is no going back with regards to the IEE policy but this doesn’t mean we will not consult and improve on it. We have started consultations as a ministry but we don’t want to be driven by emotions and submit amendments that we will regret as a country. We have been around the world and realised that in all the countries all the worth of a nation lies within the indigenous and this empowers them,” Mr Masanga said.
He said since economic empowerment was dependent on the attainment of knowledge and technical skills, the Ministry in partnership with some companies was promoting skills development, through Economic Empowerment Programmes (EEPs).
“EEPs seek to increase capacity utilisation at the Vocational Training Centres (VTCs). Each of the 42 VTCs should target an enrolment of up to 1 000 per annum. Transfer appropriate technology to the VTCs, spruce infrastructure at the centre as well as enhancing centre sustainability. Community Share Ownership Schemes and ESOP continue to be implemented as well as enforcement of compliance in the reserved sectors is ongoing,” Mr Masanga said.
