Financial Gazette (Harare)
Bernard Mpofu
23 November 2011
FINANCE Minister Tendai Biti’s plans to announce a substantive Zimbabwe Stock Exchange (ZSE) board, which is expected to replace an interim board established early this year, could suffer a setback after a top chartered accountant turned down an offer to serve as an independent board member of the bourse, The Financial Gazette’s Companies & Markets (C&M) has learnt.
This emerged as reports reaching this newspaper indicated that the crisis could be compounded by the fact the immediate past interim board chairperson, Sijabuliso Biyam, could equally snub a request to remain on the board after requests from regulators that he felt were meant to humiliate him.
There has been speculation that Biti would announce the new ZSE board this week.
Market sources said following proposals by Biyam to expand the board in line with best practice, government had increased the ZSE board size to improve its oversight role on the exchange.
Standard Association of Zimbabwe director-general, Eve Gadzikwa, a Harare-based lawyer, Vimbai Nyemba, had, according to authoritative sources, been cleared by the Securities Commission of Zimbabwe (SECZ) after the ZSE nominated the two into the board.
The Minister of Finance has the prerogative to appoint the board after SECZ gives the nod to the nominations. Sources this week, however, said Phillip Ndlovu, a Bulawayo-based chartered accountant, had turned down the offer to sit on the ZSE board.
The board, the sources further said, was yet to appoint another independent member to represent stockbroker interests.
C&M understands that First Mutual Life executive, Peter Shonhiwa, is currently acting chairperson of the ZSE board. However, the full board is expected to appoint a substantive chairperson.
Dzinotizei Mutasa, the recently appointed Zimbabwe Statistical Agency director-general, is expected to remain on the board although stockbroker, Ndodana Mguquka, a non-independent board member representing stockbrokers, is expected to throw in the towel.
“The regulator has taken a position that a new board should be fully constituted in the shortest possible time. But as it stands, the process is behind schedule. There are two more appointments out of the six independent board members still to be made,” said a source close to the developments.
“A chartered accountant and an independent person knowledgeable with the stockbroking industry are missing. This process should have been completed in October. Indications were that the vacancies would be filled by this week following last week’s meeting that was attended by the new board members.”
Biyam had told this newspaper this year that his board had resolved to increase members in order to broaden the board’s skills depth, prompting the current process.
He indicated that the board was very “green” and required additional support from a lawyer, chartered accountant and a business management expert.
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