When Robert Mugabe was forced to resign as Zimbabwe’s President in November 2017, the country had been estranged from much of the Western world for more than a decade, depriving it of much-need investment and support from multilateral agencies. The consequences for the economy were dire: negative or sluggish growth, company closures, massive unemployment and a crippling cash shortage. Against this background, the first order of business for Emmerson Mnangagwa, Mugabe’s successor, was to declare the country “open for business”. He moved fast to reverse a stipulation that capped foreign equity in a business or project at 49% – save for investments in the diamond and platinum mining sectors. However, in a clear indication that it is particularly keen on attracting foreign mining investors, the new administration announced in March that even these two sectors will so be exempt from the so-called indigenisation provision.
