Paul Janisch

I had a firm in Africa

 

This just in from Fin24.  It could be sensational journalism or it could actually happen.  Two years ago I was in Vic Falls for a wedding and I spoke to a few business owners who had predicted this and had kept their businesses lean so that when this happened there wasn't much dispose of.

White businesspeople in Zimbabwe who don't cede control of their companies to black partners could face jail under a law going into effect next month.

An official notice on Tuesday says the law will be enforced from March 1, and includes jail penalties of up to five years. It gives companies worth $500 000 or more 45 days to submit compliance proposals. Foreign investors also need to meet an "empowerment quota."

The law passed by the Harare parliament when it was still dominated by President Robert Mugabe's lawmakers in 2008 is meant to benefit "indigenous" Zimbabweans - those who suffered under colonial-era racial discrimination and their children born after independence in 1980. That effectively excludes the nation's 20 000 whites.

The question is how more can Bob fuck Zim up.  And the answer obviously is - a whole lot more.

Namibia's mining charter mooted

This comes from a recent Namibia mining report that you can buy for $500 US.  Or you can read the summary here.

In May 2009, there were fresh media reports that Namibia is thinking of following the lead of South Africa and introducing a mining charter, designed to increase black ownership of mineral assets. South Africa's legislation, introduced in 2004, compelled mining companies to sell a 15% stake in mining assets to local black investors by 2009, rising to 26% by 2014.

Namibia's BEE is getting closer - so they say

Namibian Mines and Energy Minister Erkki Nghimtina announced that Government was nearing completion of the long-awaited Transformational Economic and Social Empowerment Framework (TESEF) that would compel mining companies to empower communities within which they operate.
Addressing an annual general meeting of the Chamber of Mines in Windhoek a fortnight ago, Nghimtina said TESEF would compel all licence applicants to “clearly and convincingly” show their commitment to empower previously disadvantaged Namibians.

It's been mooted and discussed for a long time.  Certain mining companies in Namibia have developed their own BEE charters in anticipation of  TESEF.  Perhaps we had to wait for the elections?