HARARE The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has raised concern at Zimbabwes controversial drive to force foreign-owned mining firms to sell majority stake to local blacks, ZimOnline learnt on Friday. Government officials said an IMF team that left Harare on Thursday after a three-week consultation mission also expressed worry at plans by the government to raise salaries for public workers when state coffers were near empty.
The IMF has during previous consultation missions to Zimbabwe warned President Robert Mugabe and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirais unity government to put a tight lid on rising wage demands in the public sector and to ensure its economic empowerment programme does not scare away badly-needed foreign investors to damage the nascent economic recovery.
“They (IMF) appeared to have been rattled by the indigenisation laws which gave the mining firms up to September to comply with the law. The gazetting of the law was ill-timed and nobody saw it coming this fast, a ministry of finance official, who declined to be named because he had not been cleared by his superiors to discuss the matter with the Press.
During their visit the delegation had also raised concerns about the wage bill as there appeared to be pressure to raise salaries yet the fiscus cannot afford,” said the official.
The drastic economic empowerment laws announced last Monday give foreign-owned mining companies 45 days to submit to Indigenisation Minister Saviour Kasukuwere details of how they plan to transfer controlling stake to locals by next September.
Firms that fail to disclose their share-transfer plans within the stipulated period face prosecution, according to the regulations that have thrown the mining sector — the economys largest into turmoil.
The empowerment plans are being pushed by Mugabes wing of the coalition government and opposed by Tsvangirais MDC party that favours a gradual approach, fearing that wholesale indigenisation could wreck a fragile economy.
Analysts say Mugabe maybe intent on putting pressure on foreign miners to pay more in taxes.
Miners will be torn between pulling out and risk losing rights to the massive platinum reserves and other minerals to Mugabe’s preferred investors from China or negotiate revised deals that will see the government getting more from the countrys resources.
The resource rich southern African nation boasts the worlds second largest reserves of platinum, has discovered alluvial diamonds which experts say could generate $2 billion a year and has large gold, chrome and coal deposits.
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