[miningmx.com] — ZIMBABWE’S Empowerment Minister, Saviour
Kasukuwere has little legal backing and political support to force Impala Platinum
(Implats) to give up its entire shareholding in Mimosa, with legal experts and a
member of cabinet saying the indigenisation legislation did not give him powers to do
so.
Kasukuwere said earlier this week that Implats should divest from Mimosa completely,
leaving the allowed 49% for foreign shareholders to current JV partner Aquarius
Platinum.
“Impala must be out of Mimosa. We are much happier negotiating with one partner,’
Kasukuwere told Miningmx.
Mines Minister, Obert Mpofu – who last year refused to endorse the cancellation of
Zimplats’s licence by Kasukuwere over alleged reluctance to comply with the
indigenisation policy – earlier this week referred Miningmx questions over the
issue to his deputy, Gift Chimanikire.
On Friday, Chimanikire said it was his ministry’s policy to promote mining development
in Zimbabwe and not to drive away investors. “We are a mining and mining
development ministry,’ he said without further commenting on Kasukuwere’s
statements.
Another cabinet minister told Miningmx earlier this week that Kasukuwere had
“increasingly become overzealous’ in enforcing compliance with the controversial
policy.
Legal experts and other sources in Zimbabwe said it will be difficult for Kasukuwere
to force Impala to divest from Mimosa.
Zimbabwean economist, John Robertson, said Kasukuwere was not mandated under
the indigenisation law to force Impala to surrender its shareholding in Mimosa and
allow Aquarius to retain the rest of the foreign equity threshold in the mine.
“I don’t believe he has the power to enforce this, the indigenisation policy does not
empower him to do this.’
He said the country’s indigenisation drive was “a political policy’, and re-iterated
that it was not good for the economy.
“They should go to court and challenge the government,’ said Robertson.
In separate announcements on Friday, Implats
and Aquarius said a part of their indigenisation plan for Mimosa had been rejected by
the Zimbabwean government, and that the companies were given a 30-day
ultimatum before “enforcement mechanisms’ would be activated.
