Lafarge Zimbabwe shareholders approve indigenisation plan

Shareholders of Lafarge Zimbabwe today approved the plan by the company to give 10 percent of its equity to workers and the community as part of plans to comply with Zimbabwe’s local ownership laws.

Lafarge Zimbabwe is the local unit of LafargeHolcim, the world’s biggest manufacturer of building materials with operations in 90 countries.

The shareholders approved the transfer of four million ordinary shares, being five percent of ordinary shares in issue as at 31 March 2016 to establish an Employee Share Ownership Trust as well as the transfer of another four million ordinary shares to set up a Community Share Ownership Scheme.

Chief financial officer Host Mapondera told reporters at the company’s AGM that following shareholder approval the company now awaits governments’ approval of the plan.

“We are fine tuning the document in line with the latest pronouncements made on the policy. So in the next few weeks we will be engaging our parent ministry,” he said.

Zimbabwe’s Indigenisation and Empowerment Act of 2008 requires foreign owned companies valued at over $500 000 to cede 51 percent to black locals. However, a recent pronouncement by President Robert Mugabe indicated that compliance to the policy could take several forms with emphasis being placed on companies retaining earnings in Zimbabwe.-The Source

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