He also parroted the baseless party line about non-existent sanctions – claiming “The illegal sanctions will continue to hamper our efforts and slow-down the impetus the indigenisation crusade was supposed to provide to the economy,” Maziwisa said.
Asked how the party planned to create the jobs it promised during its election campaign, Maziwisa said “We promised to raise $7.3 billion and that is what we are going to do. Sanctions or no sanctions we will have to deliver on our promise and I can assure you by December we will have the full list of companies that are up for expropriation. All foreign firms will have to comply with the law.”
In the Zanu (PF) manifesto, President Robert Mugabe promised to raise $7,3 billion through indigenisation of 1,138 companies across 14 key sectors of the economy to enable him to create 2,265 million jobs in the next five years.
Titled “Taking Back the Economy” the indigenisation crusade “seeks to enforce the transfer to local entities of at least 51 per-cent controlling equity in all existing foreign owned businesses.”
Critics have argued that the expropriation of companies has led to investor flight while those that have been waiting in the wings have since recoiled. Two months after reclaiming a Parliamentary majority Zanu (PF) is yet to show any sign of how it will tackle the economic malaise with all indications pointing to a rapid descent into another meltdown.
A day after results confirmed Mugabe would extend his 33-year stranglehold on power, Zimbabwe’s stock market index fell 11 per-cent to 205.57 points in the mid-morning session, with all top-10 shares, except the local unit of insurance giant Old Mutual, trading in the red. Recovery from this initial shock has been nothing but sluggish according to economists.
A number of mining companies, including conglomerate Zimplats, Unki, Mimosa and the diamond mining companies have complied with the indigenisation law, while the finance, commercial and tourism sectors remain on edge.
Post published in: News