EMPOWERMENT Minister Saviour Kasukuwere has told central bank chief Gideon Gono to keep his counsel, insisting the 14-day indigenisation ultimatum still stands as divisions in government continue over the controversial policy.
Gono – who has stated his opposition to the government’s equity-based empowerment model claiming only a few people would benefit – launched an astonishing attack on Kasukuwere after the minister told Barclays and Standard Chartered banks to comply with the country's indigenisation laws or risk closure.
Foreign-owned companies are now required by law to transfer control of at least 51 percent of their shareholding to locals as part of measures aimed at empowering the historically disadvantaged black majority.
But Gono said Kasukuwere’s 14-day ultimatum could cause “could irreparably harm the nerve-centre of our recovering economy”.
“Tendencies towards firing harmful verbal economic-gunpowder must be minimised by all stakeholders in the interest of the economy and the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Board forewarns people playing with economic gunpowder to leave the game to those well-trained in its use and safe custody, lest the unintended will happen, to everyone’s future regret,” Gono said in a recent statement.
However, Kasukuwere hit back at Gono’s “profane language” and told the RBZ chief to keep his personal views.
"We cannot run a nation based on profane language. Let's respect the laws of the land and not personalise issues,” Kasukuwere told the state-run Herald newspaper.
“Individual views should remain so, but the law of the land should remain supreme.”
Gono insisted he was the sole legal authority on the country’s banking sector adding: “The RBZ has neither given notice to nor does it have any immediate or foreseeable intention(s) to withdraw operating licences from any registered financial institution under its supervision.”
Still, Kasukuwere told Gono to stick to his role of “supervising” the country’s financial sector and vowed to continue with the implementation of the indigenization programme.
"The Act will be implemented without fear or favour,” he said.
“We will not be deterred from implementing the laws of the land and those foreign banks whose parentage in any case continues to attack and affect our people with illegal sanctions cannot be defended by any logical Zimbabwean.”