Harare:Zanu PF in-fighting is threatening to spiral out of control in the wake of two ministers Patrick Chinamasa and Patrick Zhuwao in a damaging discord once again on the country’s contentious indigenisation framework over foreign banks.
The announcement on Saturday by Chinamasa,who is the minister of Finance, that foreign-owned financial institutions operating in Zimbabwe have submitted credible plans on how they intend to localize their majority shareholding as required by the country’s indigenization law has triggered an escalating public row with Zhuwao, the minister of Indigenisation, prompting a series of increasingly strident public statements.
As Mugabe’s Cabinet descends into virtual open warfare, the two brawled over compliance to laws that force foreign-owned firms to surrender 51 percent of their shares to locals.
“I am pleased to advise that all the affected foreign-owned financial institutions operating in Zimbabwe, namely Barclays Bank, Stanbic, Old Mutual, CABS, Standard Chartered Bank, Ecobank, BancABC and MBCA bank have submitted credible Indigenization and Economic Empowerment plans before the deadline of 31 March 2016 in line with policy and the notice gazetted by the Minister of Youth, Indigenization and Economic Empowerment,” Chinamasa said in a statement.
Zhuwao who would have none of it, shredded Chinamasa’s proposals to pieces and rebuking Chinamasa’s misleading statement.