Brenna
Matendere
The
first
schedule
of
the Zimbabwe
Indigenisation
and
Economic
Empowerment
Act
(Chapter
14:33) lists
12
commercial
sectors
that
are
reserved
for
local
business
entities.
These
are:
transportation:
passenger
buses,
taxes
and
car
hire
services;
retail
and
wholesale
trade;
barber
shops,
hairdressing
and
beauty
salons;
employment
agencies;
estate
agencies;
valet
services;
grain
milling;
bakeries;
tobacco
grading
and
packaging;
advertising
agencies;
provision
of
local
arts
and
craft;
marketing
and
distribution,
as
well
as
artisanal
mining.
The
Zimbabwe
Investment
and
Development
Agency
(ZIDA)
Act makes
exceptions
to
retail
by
foreigners—in
special
economic
zones
for
instance—but
the
investors
must
first
obtain
authorisation
from
the
commissioner
general
of
the
Zimbabwe
Revenue
Authority
and
ZIDA.
Our
investigation
confirmed
that
Livetouch
had
not
applied
for
an
exception,
nor
did
it
get
authority,
to
retail.
Door
frames
It
was
established
that
the
Chinese
investor
has
spread
its
business
enterprise
from
manufacturing
of
cement
to
retail
and
wholesale
of
bricks,
sand,
door
frames
and
quarry
stones.
Livetouch,
which
is
led
by
Chinese
directors
Dongning
Wang
and
Feng
Wang,
is
licensed
to
manufacture
cement
under
the
brand
name
Diamond
Cement
at
the
firm’s
plant
located
at
Number
2713,
Old
Steelworks
Road
in
Redcliff.
Previously,
as
indicated
in
government
audits,
it
dealt
in
chrome.
During
a
visit
to
the
company’s
premises,
this
reporter
witnessed
clients
casually
going
in
and
out
of
the
plant
to
buy
various
items
that
included
door
frames.
Livetouch
is
one
example
of
a
Foreign
Direct
Investment
(FDI)
established
in
Zimbabwe
following
the
country’s
“Open
for
Business”
policy
introduced
by
President
Emmerson
Mnangagwa
when
he
took
over
power
from
the
late
Robert
Mugabe
with
military
assistance
in
November
2017.
Chinese
investors,
both
state-owned
and
private,
have
been
receiving
preferential
treatment
in
the
licensing
and
contracting
of
foreign
businesses
in
Zimbabwe.
Livetouch
recently
came
under
the
spotlight
for extensive
pollution at
its
plant
amid
rising
cases
of
silicosis
and
related
deaths.
Confirmed
The
Kwekwe
District
Development
Coordinator
(DCC),
Fortune
Mpungu,
confirmed
that
Livetouch
had
ventured
into
brick
moulding,
sand
sales
and
quarry
stone
trade.
“It’s
true
that
Livetouch
is
undertaking
such
business
activities,”
Mpungu
told NewsHub.
However,
he
insisted
that
monitoring
of
Livetouch
and
other
companies
was
the
responsibility
of
the
Redcliff
municipality.
“They
(municipality)
do
that
in
conjunction
with
the
ministry
of
Industry
and
Commerce
and
ZRP
(Zimbabwe
Republic
Police),”
he
said,
adding:
“I
will
liaise
with
concerned
stakeholders
for
a
way
forward.”
A
report
that
this
publication
obtained
during
the
course
of
the
investigation
also
confirms
the
illicit
commercial
activities
by
Livetouch.
The
report
was
produced
by
the
Kwekwe-based
Anti-Corruption
Trust
of
Southern
Africa
(ACT-SA)
under
the
title,
“Money
over
life:
The
Case
of
a
Chinese
Investor
(Livetouch
Investments
(Pvt)
Ltd)
t/as
Diamond
Cement)
in
the
town
of
Redcliff
in
the
Midlands
Province
of
Zimbabwe.”
“Livetouch
is
not
only
into
cement
manufacturing
but
was
engaged
in
the
manufacturing
of
furniture,
moulding
bricks
and
pavers
and
crushing
quarry
stones
in
direct
competition
with
the
local
people.
“This
lays
bare
ill-thought
licensing
decisions
considering
Section
32
(1)
of
the
Zimbabwe
Investment
Development
Act
[Chapter
14:37]
which
encourages
relevant
authorities
to
assess
the
impact
of
foreign
investments
on
existing
industries
before
issuance
of
these
licences,”
reads
part
of
the
report.
In
the
dossier,
ACT-SA
makes
several
recommendations
that
include
an
investigation
by
ZIDA
and
relevant
authorities
into
the
illegal
retail
by
Livetouch.
“The
Zimbabwe
Investment
and
Development
Agency
and
other
relevant
authorities
should
investigate
Livetouch
to
assess
whether
or
not
its
activities
are
within
its
mandate
as
stipulated
in
licence/s
that
it
was
given
upon
registration,”
urges
ACT-SA.
Compromised
The
corruption
watchdog’s
director,
Obert
Chinhamo,
suspects
that
the
Redcliff
council
is
not
acting
against
Livetouch
because
some
it
is
receiving
kickbacks
from
the
company
disguised
as
philanthropic
work.
“The
municipality
of
Redcliff
may
be
compromised
in
its
ability
to
hold
Livetouch
accountable
for
several
shortcomings
including
environmental
violations
due
to
the
municipality’s
longstanding
relationship
with
the
company.
“The
numerous
donations
and
financial
contributions
made
by
Livetouch
to
the
municipality
have
created
a
situation
whereby
the
municipality
may
be
reluctant
to
take
any
action
that
would
jeopardise
its
benefactor’s
standing
in
the
community.
“This
dependency
on
Livetouch’s
generosity
has,
in
effect,
shackled
the
municipality’s
ability
to
enforce
its
own
laws
and
regulations,
effectively
granting
Livetouch
carte
blanche
to
engage
in
violations
with
impunity,”
he
said.
NewsHub
established
that,
when
the
former
Redcliff
mayor,
Clayton
Masiyatsva,
passed
on
in
January
this
year,
Livetouch
provided
financial
assistance
for
his
burial.
In
2022,
the
Office
of
the
Auditor
General
(OAG)
flagged
the
Redcliff
authority
for
a
barter
deal
with
Livetouch
in
which
it
exchanged
land
worth
US$847
962
for
numerous
vehicles.
The
vehicles
involved
in
the
transaction
were
four
Toyota
Hiluxes,
one
Toyota
Fortuner,
one
Backhoe
loader,
five
Nissan
NP300
trucks,
one
grader,
a
skip
bin
loader,
a
Toyota
18-seater
bus,
one
Toyota
Quantum
ambulance
and
a
fire
tender.
Part
of
the
report
reads:
“Livetouch
Investments
(Private)
Limited
was
not
in
the
business
of
supplying
vehicles
but
in
the
business
of
chrome
processing,”
noted
the
OAG
report
that
described
the
deal
as
irregular.
The
purchase
of
the
service
vehicles
was
supposed
to
be
authorised
by
the
Local
Government
ministry,
the
Office
of
the
President
and
Cabinet
as
well
as
national
treasury,
but
the
municipality
failed
to
provide
the
OAG
with
documentation
proving
that.
The
current
Redcliff
Mayor,
Vincent
Shangwa Masiiwa, dismissed
the
allegation
that
his
municipality
was
compromised.
“That (land-for-vehicles
deal) happened
long
back
and
I
don’t
see
how
it
can
compromise
us,”
he
said.
On
numerous
occasions,
the
mayor
kept
promising
to
check
if
the
Redcliff
municipality
had
authorised
Livetouch
to
engage
in
retail
trade,
but
did
not
do
so.
Gift
Mugano,
an
economics
professor,
bemoaned
the
widespread
tendency
by
foreigners
to
engage
in
businesses
reserved
for
locals.
“It’s
not
only
the
Chinese.
l
see
foreigners
running
tuck
shops
and
Zimbabweans
are
security
guards
there
and
the
ones
who
help
you
to
carry
the
stuff
from
the
small
shops
to
your
car,”
Mugano
told
NewsHub.
He
accused
the
government
of
turning
a
blind
eye
on
the
illegal
activities
of
foreign
companies.
An
investigation commissioned
by
Information
for
Development
Trust
(IDT)
and
published
by
NewZimbabwe.com
in
July
2023
revealed
that
retail
business
in
Harare’s
central
business
district
was
increasingly
getting
dominated
by
Chinese,
Indian,
Pakistani,
Nigerian,
Ethiopian,
Malawian
and
Tanzanian
nationals.
Municipal
and
other
public
authorities
were
facilitating
the
licensing
of
the
foreign
retail
in
contravention
of
the
law.
The
Small
and
Medium
Enterprises
ministry
subsequently
toured
the
city
centre
and
vowed
to
clamp
down
on
the
illegal
businesses
but
has
not
done
so
to
date.
Industry
minister,
Nqobizitha
Mangaliso
Ndlovu,
did
not
respond
to
questions
sent
to
him
via
WhatsApp
and
ignored
voice
calls.
George
Makonese,
the
Livetouch
spokesperson,
confirmed
seeing
questions
on
the
findings
of
this
investigation
but
said
he
preferred
the
company
lawyer
to
respond.
“I
will
have
to
refer
you
to
our
company
lawyer.
He
is
the
one
who
knows
what
is
legal
and
illegal
and
is
more
knowledgeable
about
law
than
me,”
he
said.
He
also
said
he
feared
being
misquoted
by
the
media.
Makonese
ignored
repeated
requests
to
link
this
publication
with
the
company
lawyer
and
other
efforts
to
track
him
were
fruitless.
Source:
Chinese
firm
ventures
into
prohibited
sector
–
News
Hub
Zimbabwe