Cabinet has directed  licencing authority to cancel licences of non compliant business within their respective sectors of the economy to ensure compliance with the Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Act.

The compliance is expected to be with effect from April 1, 2016.

Government had given foreign owned businesses up to March 31 to submit their indigenisation compliance plans.

Youth, Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Minister Patrick Zhuwao told journalists that Cabinet had resolved to withdraw the proposed indigenisation levy and would instead cancel all licences of non-compliant companies.

“Cabinet directed that by April 1 all line Ministries invoke Section 5 of the Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Act against all non-compliant businesses in their sectors,” Zhuwao said.

He said invoking Section 5 of the Act was purely a technical process which shall come into effect by “pure operation of the law.”

Under the process, the line Minister shall issue an order to a licencing authority to cancel licences of non-compliant business and notify the business in writing of the intention to cancel the licence.

Cabinet also directed all line Ministries to set up National Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Board (NIEEB) that is fully comprehensive in all companies that are licenced to operate within their sectors within a week from March 22, 2016 for the purposes of verifying their indigenous status.