Business Reporter

GOVERNMENT will promulgate a new economic empowerment law to replace the previous one to attract foreign direct investment, Finance and Economic Development Minister Professor Mthuli Ncube said yesterday.

Presenting his Mid-Year Budget Review Statement in Parliament he said that Government, through the 2018 Finance Amendment Bill, was amending the Indigenisation and Empowerment Act.

As a result, he said that platinum and diamond sectors have been removed from the reserve list so shareholding on both minerals will depend on negotiations with investors. 

“Subsequently, the Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Act will be repealed and replaced by the Economic Empowerment Act, which will be consistent with the current thrust ‘Zimbabwe is Open for Business’” said Prof Ncube.

Following the coming in of the Second Republic in November 2017, it has been observed that Zimbabwe was failing to attract investors from across the world in different sectors of the economy largely due to the restrictive nature of the Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Act.

Before it was amended, the Act stipulated that foreign investors should hold a maximum of 49 percent shareholding with 51 percent stake reserved for locals. Government has adopted the “Zimbabwe is open for business” mantra and through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, the country has embarked on a re-engagement drive with the international community to thaw relations.

This followed close to two decades of  international isolation after the country embarked on the Land Reform Programme in 2000. As part of efforts to attract investors Government is also working on a bill that would simplify investing procedures, cut bureaucracy and create a “one-stop shop” for investor registration requirements.