Join hands to fight graft, says Mnangagwa

Bickering among Government ministers over the implementation of the Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Act had the effect of undermining business confidence in the country, prompting President Mugabe's intervention to the policy, Acting President Emmerson Mnangagwa said yesterday. He urged Zimbabweans to join hands in the fight against corruption which he said undermined efforts to turnaround the economy.

Youth, Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Minister Patrick Zhuwao, recently publicly attacked his Finance and Economic Development counterpart Patrick Chinamasa for announcing that the financial services sector had fully complied with indigenisation requirements.

Minister Zhuwao argued that his ministry was supposed to confirm compliance, prompting President Mugabe to move in and set the record straight that the Ministry of Youth, Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment was only there to coordinate at Cabinet level while line ministries were in charge of implementation.

Officially opening the Third Zimbabwe Accountants Conference in Harare yesterday, the Acting President said an investor friendly environment would enable the country to meet its triple objectives of poverty reduction, economic growth and shared prosperity.

"A lot of confusion had arisen regarding the Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment policy with the unfortunate effect of undermining the confidence of the business community, including current and potential investors," said Acting President Mnangagwa.

"This was due to conflicting positions regarding the interpretation of the policy. His Excellency, the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces, R.G Mugabe, recently clarified Government's position.

"The policy was introduced to deliberately empower the historically disadvantaged indigenous Zimbabweans and to grant them ownership and control of the country's means and factors of production. "The objective is to enable Zimbabweans to be significant players in the mainstream of the country's economy."

Acting President Mnangagwa implored accountants to help Government in fighting corruption both in the public and private sectors. The conference is running under the theme: "Partner, collaborate and grow".

Acting President Mnangagwa reiterated the implementation matrix with regards to the natural resources sector, non-resource sectors and the reserved sector. He said the 51-49 percentage shareholding between indigenous Zimbabweans and foreign investors respectively was non-negotiable in the natural resources sector.

The Acting President, who is also in charge of the Ministry of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs, said in the non-resource areas such as the financial services sector, the 51-49 percent shareholding did not apply. "Sector-based empowerment credits or quotas will be granted to reflect the contribution of investors in such businesses to the national development efforts.

"This will be agreed upon through negotiations involving the relevant line ministers and the private investors. The role of the Minister of Youth, Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment is to coordinate the activities of line ministries in the implementation of the policy through the relevant Cabinet committee, which he chairs and not otherwise," said Acting President Mnangagwa.

Under the reserved sector, he said, the President directed that where there were inconsistencies between the Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Act and policy, appropriate amendments should be made to align the two.

Acting President Mnangagwa said Government was taking initiatives to improve the investment climate through a battery of measures under the ambit of "Ease of Doing Business Reforms".

The measures include major legislative and administrative interventions like shortening the time it takes to register a business in Zimbabwe, improving public and private sector governance through a corporate governance framework and equipping the workforce with skills and competencies to contribute significantly in the modern market-place.

He said accountants were therefore uniquely positioned to support the initiatives in both the public and private sectors. "However, corruption, corruption, corruption continues to rear its ugly head and it can render all these strategies unsuccessful if it goes unchecked," he said. "As professional accountants, you have a constitutional, professional and moral obligation to contribute significantly to the fight against the scourge of corruption. "Corruption works against the fundamentals of good governance, which is clearly stipulated as one of the nine founding values and principles in our Constitution," he said.

"Corruption increases the cost of offshore and onshore money to both Government and the private sector because of its negative impact on Zimbabwe' sovereign risk. It also increases the tax burden and the cost of doing business in our country. And that burden rests on us all 100 percent and we must all fight it," said Acting President Mnangagwa.

He added: "Therefore, this conference should not confine itself to the usual professional niceties but instead seize this opportunity to seriously discuss and strategise on the measures that can be put in place to rid ourselves of corruption."

Industry and Commerce Deputy Minister Chiratidzo Mabuwa, Deputy Chief Secretary to the President and Cabinet, Dr Ray Ndhlukula, Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs permanent secretary Mrs Virginia Mabhiza and Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Macro-Economic Planning and Investment Promotion Dr Desire Sibanda as well as Members of Parliament attended the official opening.

Also present were chief executive officer of the International Federation of Accountants, Mr Fayez Choudhury, chief executive officer of the Pan African Federation of Accountants, Mr Vickson Ncube and chairperson of the Public Accountants and Auditors Board, Mr Brian Njikizana.