Indigenisation bill threatens investment conference
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By Alex Bell
16 February 2010
The controversial indigenisation bill which was published last week is threatening an investment conference currently underway in Harare, with sceptical delegates questioning Zimbabwe as a safe investment zone.
The Pan-African Tourism and Infrastructure Investment conference which got under way on Tuesday, has been labelled as an opportunity for Zimbabwe to reassert itself as a leading tourism destination. The conference ends
Thursday and will see Zimbabwe explaining its case to international investors and tour operators to convince them that it remains one of Africa’s safest investment and tourism destinations. With the football World Cup set
to begin in just over three months, Zimbabwe’s tourism officials have been trying to market the country to investors, knowing that investment will be key to rebuilding the tourism sector.
But these efforts, like so many other attempts to encourage foreign investment, have been undermined by the draconian indigenisation bill published last week. The Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment
regulations, passed under a two year old legislation adopted by the ZANU PF government, requires businesses to inform the government of the racial make-up of their shareholders by mid-April. From there, the unity government would determine how much of their shareholding would need to be ceded to ‘indigenous’ Zimbabweans. The government would make this choice from a pre-decided list of ‘suitable’ indigenous shareholders, and business owners could face jail time if they don’t comply.
SW Radio Africa correspondent Simon Muchemwa reported on Tuesday that it is this bill that has dissuaded many formerly interested potential investors from even attending the Investment Conference. He explained that the majority of top international business delegates who have been flying into the country since last week, did not turn up to day one of the conference, and those who did remained ‘suspicious’ of investing. Delegates trying to get clarification on how the indigenisation bill would affect their potential investments also received little guidance, with the conference “trying to avoid all questions about Zimbabwe’s politics and things like the
bill.”
“This indigenisation bill is just one of the many things threatening investment, like the farm invasions and the political uncertainty,” Muchemwa said.
Muchemwa explained that the conference has become a ‘fundraising exercise’ for the tourism ministry, with Minister Walter Mzembi openly appealing for funding to help the country’s premier tourism destinations be ready for the World Cup. The Minister said that an estimated billion dollars would be needed to help Zimbabwe get ready to receive tourists at Victoria Falls, the only destination considered as a tourist hot spot. Muchemwa said there is widespread criticism over the fact that the government has the gall to ask for money, a week after the controversial indigenisation bill was announced.
Tourism in Zimbabwe has declined almost completely as a result of the violent farm seizures which began in 2000, as well as ongoing human rights violations and the complete disregard for the rule of the law. These same
issues have been standing in the way of potential investment in the country, which is still to see any real change, more than a year since the formation of the unity government. Minister Mzembi told reporters at a pre-conference meeting in Harare last Friday that his strategy was to make 2010 the year of investment after what he called the “year of reengagement in 2009.”