Army Disposes Of Stake In Platinum Joint Venture
President Emmerson Mnangagwa said that the Zimbabwe Defence Forces has disposed of its stake in a $4 billion platinum joint venture with Russian investors.
According to The Standard, the military, through the Zimbabwe Defence Industries, and Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation (ZMDC) together hold 30% of the joint venture, known as Great Dyke Investments, through a company they control, Pen East (Pty) Ltd.
Reports over the past few months had indicated that the military’s involvement in the US$4 billion platinum project was the main reason why the deal commissioned in 2014 had stalled.
Speaking during an interview with Bloomberg in Mozambique during the just-ended US-Africa Business Summit, President Mnangagwa said:
They have moved out, we have removed the Zimbabwe Defence Forces. It is now owned by a private company.
We moved the army out, which had initially been part of the shareholding.
So it is now 50/50, the other 50% is owned by the Russians and the other 50% by a local Zimbabwean company, which bought out the army.
