Zimbabwe business leaders tell Mugabe the country is in need of comprehensive reforms

A statement by Mugabe last April, in which he said companies operating in Zimbabwe could still comply by spending 75 percent of their procurement locally, has still not been made law.

“His Excellency, the President, gave clarity on this matter. What remains is to comprehensively change the current legislation relating to Indigenization and Economic Empowerment (IEE) to reflect the position as clarified by H.E. the President on the matter. Business is pointedly supportive of Government efforts on IEE,” business leaders said.

They also called on Mugabe to “deal decisively with all acts of corruption – both the tigers and the flies – comprehensively, systematically and without favour”.

In response, Mugabe said corruption was rising in both the private sector and government, saying he did not know where the culture was coming from.

After spending 10 years without meeting Mugabe, the business leaders asked to meet him each quarter.

Mugabe said he was ready to meet business in more relaxed settings where “we can ask each other questions”.

At the end of the event, in scenes that portrayed relations between Mugabe and big business, the business leaders lined up to donate laptops to the President.

The gift, they said, was “to President Mugabe to continue the good educational vision that he has for school children”. – The Source

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