Harare - Regional mining conglomerate Mwana Africa’s Freda Rebecca Gold Mine is expected to soon launch a community fund for Zimbabwe’s Mashonaland Central province as part of its empowerment compliance plan.

This was revealed by the Minister of Youth Development, Indigenisation and Empowerment Savior Kasukuwere recently.

Mwana Africa has also agreed to sell 15 percent of its stake in Freda Rebecca to a Zimbabwean businessman.

Zimbabwe’s empowerment laws require all firms with a value of US$500 000 or more to be at least 51 percent owned by indigenous people.

Firms were asked to submit their plans to comply with the law, which recognises developmental contributions to the communities in which they operate.

They are then given five years to ensure full compliance with the law.

Minister Kasukuwere said, “The Government will soon be launching an empowerment fund by the Freda Rebecca Gold Mine for Bindura and Mashonaland Central. The funds have already been put in place.

Freda Rebecca is majority-owned by Mwana Africa Holdings (Pty) Limited.

The mine is near the town of Bindura, some 90 km northeast of Zimbabwe’s capital, Harare.

In April 2005, Mwana Africa bought 100 percent of Freda Rebecca from AngloGold Ashanti Limited.

Several firms have started complying with the empowerment laws.

Old Mutual this year launched a staff share ownership scheme as part of efforts to comply with the country’s indigenisation laws.

Platinum miners Zimplats, Mimosa and Unki have launched employee share ownership schemes, as has a consortium of 15 mining companies and a cement manufacturer for the Gwanda community development fund in southern Zimbabwe.

The Gwanda firms pledged to give 10 percent of their annual profits for community development and ceded 51 percent of their shareholding to indigenous businesspersons.

President Robert Mugabe has said the empowerment drive is neither vindictive nor racist.

"The principle of sovereign ownership of the natural resources of our land by the state on behalf of indigenous Zimbabweans is also a means of fighting and eliminating the dependency syndrome, which has haunted most of the developing world.

"It is a policy that enables us to think beyond foreign aid, which often has strings attached to it," he said while launching the Gwanda scheme.