Implats set for talks on Zim shares grab

Implala Platinum will go into talks with the Zimbabwean government tomorrow about the state's plans to take a majority shareholding in the company's Zimplats operation.

There are indications that Zimbabwe's empowerment minister, Saviour Kasukuwere, has toned down his "non-negotiable" approach.

The board of Implats - the JSE-listed world No2 platinum producer - was due to discuss the impasse on Friday after Kasukuwere surprisingly agreed to extend the government's "indigenisation" compliance deadline to tomorrow.

The firebrand minister had earlier rejected a bid by Impala to have the deadline extended.

On Friday, Impala denied that it had made an "irrevocable" offer to comply with the controversial law.

Zimplats spokesman Busi Chindove told The Times that a solution to the impasse with the government had not been found.

"The company's shareholders are being engaged on this issue and will issue a statement," she said.

Zimplats' CEO Alex Mhembere would not comment further and Kasukuwere stuck to his guns at the weekend, saying "there will be no going back" on the policy.

Political analysts and economists maintain that the indigenisation policy is being used as a tool to score political points for President Robert Mugabe's Zanu-PF party, which wants to hold elections this year.

Sources in Zimbabwe's corporate sector, among them a chief executive, said there was no consensus among government officials about the measures that should be taken against Zimplats for its alleged reluctance to comply with the policy.

Zimplats' Chindove revealed that the government was refusing to honour a "release of ground agreement" deal it signed with the company in 2006.

"The minister [Kasukuwere] wants this to be handled differently and this is what has caused all these problems. Zimplats says the government should honour its agreement with the company," said the chief executive, who asked for anonymity.

Government sources also revealed that there has been little support for Kasukuwere's plans to seize non-complying companies. There have been calls for caution on the issue.

Kasukuwere has previously clashed with Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe governor Gideon Gono and Finance Minister Tendai Biti over the indigenisation of foreign companies in the financial services and banking sector.

Kasukuwere's attempts to have the government take over the disputed 29.5% in Zimplats have been criticised by the government's coalition partners.

Douglas Mwonzora, the spokesman for Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change, said the party's policy on investments did not include taking majority ownership of foreign companies.

Edwin Mushoriwa, the vice-president of the smaller faction of the breakaway Movement for Democratic Change headed by Welshman Ncube, criticised Kasukuwere for his stance on the Zimplats issue. He said Impala's investments in Zimbabwe should be protected by the existence of an agreement between Zimbabwe and its southern neighbour.

"Kasukuwere carries a mandate from Mugabe to push the indigenisation law and this explains some of the statements he has made in the past, some of which have no legal basis and which will be difficult to enforce," said Johannes Kwangwari, a Zimbabwean analyst.

His view is supported by economist John Robertson, who said Kasukuwere is "bullying foreign companies" into giving up shares.

That Kasukuwere made a U-turn and extended the deadline for Implats is viewed in Zimbabwean corporate and legal circles as an indication of the minister's lack of power to impose sanctions for the company's failure to comply.