Tel Aviv - Zimbabwe will consult with the mining industry before imposing any new taxes on the sector to help fund elections set for July, the country's mines minister said on Monday.
The taxes have been proposed by Zimbabwe's minister of finance.
"I have no doubt there will be consultations between the minister of finance and myself so that we understand how they are going to handle this particular matter, but it's just a proposal," Obert Mpofu, Zimbabwe's minister of mines and development, told Reuters on the sidelines of a diamond conference in Tel Aviv.
"I haven't studied it yet and I think we will have to consult with the players, the stakeholders, before any position has been taken by the government."
Zimbabwe, which is on the verge of bankruptcy, withdrew a request for UN election funding last month, saying the United Nations had tried to interfere in security matters and the media.
Finance Minister Tendai Biti said he would consider introducing three or four taxes, including some on the mining sector, likely to affect the world's largest platinum miners, Anglo American [JSE:AGL] and Impala Platinum Holdings [JSE:IMP], which have operations in the country.
Mpofu said Zimbabwe would not impose ideas or policies on mining stakeholders, but rather would consult with the chamber of mines and even the players themselves.
"It is a process of consultations. The
minister of finance will definitely consult with me and they will consult with
the stakeholders before this is implemented," Mpofu said.