SA business boycotts Zim deal

Cape Town - Business Unity South Africa is refusing to take part in the ceremony that will mark the signing of the bilateral investment promotion and protection agreement in Harare on Friday.

The reason, the organisation says, is that it has not been consulted about its contents, and the reported content of the agreement has rung alarm bells for some members.

"For such a treaty to act as a catalyst for increased levels of investment, the private sector needs to be comfortable with all aspects of the text," Busa said in a statement on Thursday. "We do not yet have full information about the scope of the agreement and it is these uncertainties that are particularly worrisome for the business community."

It added that when the text of the agreement becomes publicly available then Busa would be in a position to issue a more detailed assessment of its business implications, especially for South African investors in Zimbabwe. Busa also hopes that there will be a transparent and robust debate around the issues as part of the Parliamentary processes before the agreement is ratified.

Busa said it believes that a strong bilateral investment treaty could make an important contribution to improving the business environment in Zimbabwe for South African investors.

"The rights of those who have had land and other interests expropriated or nationalised in Zimbabwe to seek recourse cannot, however be compromised in order to achieve the protection of future investments," the statement said.

Nonetheless, the organisation expects that some South African business representatives will still travel to Harare tomorrow to observe the signing of the agreement.

The rightwing lobby group AfriForum opposed the deal in the courts, because it says the agreement only protects investments undertaken after the deal is signed and not those made earlier - such as purchases of land which have been expropriated by the land seizure programme of President Robert Mugabe.

The North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria made an order on Thursday in terms of which the South African government undertakes to respect and honour the judgments by the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Tribunal in favour of commercial farmers in Zimbabwe, and to uphold the rights and remedies of victims of Zimbabwe's unlawful land expropriation exercise.

The order concludes urgent court proceedings brought by AfriForum on behalf of Louis Fick, a South African citizen farming in Zimbabwe, although it is unlikely to stop the signing ceremony going ahead.

- I-Net Bridge