Zimbabwe to ‘Shut Down Defiant’ British Bank

{{Zimbabwe has threatened to shut down British-owned Standard Chartered Bank and two mining companies that have not complied with its indiginisation laws.}}

According to state media, the National Indiginisation and Economic Empowerment Board (NIEEB) has told Stanchart as well as foreign owned mining firms, Metallion Gold and Duration Gold that they will be closed down until they became compliant.

The transacting public was also ordered to stop doing business with the companies with immediate effect.

“Persons, businesses and government departments dealing with these companies are by this statement given notice of the intention of government to shut down these businesses until such time that they comply with the law,” the government owned Sunday Mail quoted NIEEB as saying.

President Robert Mugabe’s Zanu-PF has been pushing a policy that compels foreign-owned companies to cede 51 per cent of their local shareholding to indigenous Zimbabweans.

But the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe governor Gideon Gono has resisted attempts to force foreign banks to comply with the law, saying the sector was too sensitive.

Dr Gono’s stance has angered loyalists of the veteran ruler who say the criticism would harm his re-election bid as Zanu-PF intends to use the empowerment programme to anchor its election strategy.

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