Zimbabwe is to revive two dormant state companies to spearhead its recently announced policy of taking 51 per cent of the shares of privately owned businesses.Obert Mpofu, the trade and industry minister, said the defunct State Trading Corporation and the Zimbabwe Development Corporation would be revived to acquire commercial and manufacturing companies. Mr Mpofu, who chairs the government’s price control task force, said his ministry had been allocated “enough funds to ensure that industry does not collapse”.
In the clearest statement to date of the government’s long-term economic policy towards private enterprise, Mr Mpofu told businessmen: “We do not want to kill you
“We want to build some kind of an orderly business environment. I will hate to reach a stage where I will be forced to take over the companies from you, but if you do not co-operate that is what is going to happen and this is the position of the government.’’
| How .. Soviet of him. |
The governmentÂ’s indigenisation and economic empowerment bill, which is expected to become law by September, requires designated businesses to sell up to 51 per cent of their shares to