Mugabe keen to take land

Zimbabwe is moving ahead with plans to acquire mining claims held by South Africa's Impala Platinum (Implats), owner of platinum producer Zimplats.

Through a government gazette, President Robert Mugabe said he wanted to take over the land at Kadoma held by Zimplats for the benefit of the public. The decision is likely to put the nation on a collision course with foreign investors.

The government intends acquiring the 28000ha which will then be parcelled out "for the immediate entry of new players into the platinum sector".

"Notice is hereby given, in terms of section 398 (1) of the Mines and Minerals Act (Chapter 21:05), that the president intends to acquire compulsorily part of the mining location held by Zimbabwe Platinum Mines under special mining lease number 1 of 1994 as it fully appears below, for the utilisation of such mining location for the benefit of the public," the gazette reads.

In July Mugabe sued Zimplats for objecting to the government's compulsory acquisition of its land.

The land, which is held by Zimplats under a special mining lease, has been lying idle for years and the government intends reallocating it to prospective miners keen on extracting platinum for economic growth.

When the matter was brought before the Administrative Court, Zimplats argued that it was agreed by both parties in 2006 that the land would be used for the company's expansion drive.

Zimplats declined to comment yesterday.

The government first made its intentions clear in 2013 when the nation's indigenisation law was passed. At the time, Zimplats said it would resort to legal channels to protect its interests.

But this year, the government vowed to soften its indigenisation stance and protect companies from nations such as South Africa with whom there are trade pacts.

Earlier this month Mugabe and President Jacob Zuma met in the capital, Harare, to sign and reaffirm trade relations in areas such as mining, agriculture and energy.

"I want to assure South African businesspeople that their investments are safe here in Zimbabwe," Mugabe said.

Since 2002 Zimplats has spent more than R64-billion in Zimbabwe as one of the leading firms in terms of taxes and royalty payments but Zimbabwe is currently faced with one of its worst economic woes.