THE Emerging Miners Association of Zimbabwe (Emaz) is pushing for the creation of a Sovereign Wealth Fund (SWF) linked to mining activities, it has been revealed.
An SWF is a State-owned investment fund that invests in real and financial assets on behalf of a government.
Zimbabwe has the Mutapa Investment Fund, a SWF with 30 state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and parastatals under its wings.
This gives the fund a portfolio of 66 firms, including intermediary holding companies, operational and dormant entities, listed companies, and the SOEs themselves.
Emaz made the call for a mining-sponsored SWF in a position paper on the Mines and Minerals Amendment Bill submitted to the Ministry of Mines and Mining Development and Parliament.
“Considering that mineral resources are finite and will not be available for all generations, can the Bill provide for the establishment of a Sovereign Wealth Fund to be fully capitalised by mining at a rate of 1% of mineral sales,” Emaz said in a paper seen by NewsDay Business.
“The sovereign wealth fund will be levied on all mineral sales to raise capital for investment in strategic national infrastructure. Further, can those who contribute to such a fund be treated as shareholders of the sovereign wealth fund.
“Only in this way will our actions be fair to generations to come who have entrusted these resources into our hands.”
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Being conscious that government resources are constrained, Emaz called on the Bill to ensure that the proposed SWF engaged an adequate pool of mining technical expertise in each mining district.
This is to help miners mine with expertise to ensure indigenous miners access it to enhance production, optimise mine lifespan as well as reduce incidents of accidents at their mines.
“In this regard, the government must realise that other economies such as Russia, Belarus and China offer their nationals incentives to come and compete with us in resource exploitation,” Emaz said.
“Therefore, we are aiming for the government to play a catch-up game innovatively.”
Emaz also called for the Bill to allocate at least 10% of the proposed SWF to people living with disabilities.
