HARARE — Barclays’ unit in Zimbabwe has submitted an empowerment compliance plan that government officials say is acceptable despite Empowerment Minister Saviour Kasukuwere’s failure to attend a meeting scheduled for Tuesday with Barclays Africa CEO Kennedy Bungane.
The Harare meeting was set for 3pm but Mr Kasukuwere was attending a cabinet meeting. It was expected that Mr Kasukuwere and Mr Bungane would hold "progressive" discussions to have Barclays become fully compliant with the country’s indigenisation laws.
Mr Bungane is said to have insisted on meeting Mr Kasukuwere, who is locked in a bitter fight over indigenisation compliance thresholds for foreign banks with central bank governor Gideon Gono.
It has now emerged that Zimbabwe has "provisionally" accepted Barclays’ indigenisation compliance plan.
Sources in the banking sector said Barclays’ compliance would give impetus to Mr Kasukuwere’s bid to intensify his crackdown on foreign banks.
"If Barclays’ plan has been accepted, then all the other foreign banks have to follow because a precedent has been set and it’s already clear from the minister that there are no sacred cows. Barclays is a big bank, its compliance, just like that of Zimplats, is a great move," said a bank executive who declined to be named.
Mr Kasukuwere confirmed to Business Day last night that the government was "not unhappy" with the bank’s plans and confirmed that Tuesday’s meeting had not taken place. He would not provide details of Barclays’ compliance plan.
"The meeting did not take place. I was attending a cabinet meeting and Mr Bungane had wanted to meet with me while we had proposed that he meet the (empowerment ministry’s) permanent secretary," Mr Kasukuwere said.
Barclays is one of four foreign-owned banks in Zimbabwe that have been given a June deadline to cede majority shares to black Zimbabwean groups. The others are MBCA, owned by Nedbank, Stanbic Bank and Standard Chartered.
Mr Bungane is in Zimbabwe for a series of meetings in Harare with government officials, executives from the central bank and employees of Barclays Zimbabwe.
By the time of writing on Wednesday, Barclays Zimbabwe spokesman Dennis Mambure had not yet responded to questions e-mailed for comment on Tuesday.
Government officials are locked in a bitter dispute over the indigenisation of foreign banks. The fight between Mr Kasukuwere and Mr Gono has worsened in the past few days. On Tuesday Mr Gono was forced to issue a statement saying he had not fled Zimbabwe to Egypt, following speculation that he had been "marked for arrest" for allegedly urging foreign banks not to comply with the indigenisation law.
"Many in my circle of operation know that every quarter I attend a board meeting of the African Export Import Bank, headquartered in Cairo," Mr Gono said. "These business meetings and trips are planned well in advance."
Post a comment