KEY POINTS
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ZMDC seeks resolution for the $93 million debt dispute.
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Zimbabwe is facing over $21 billion in debt and creditor woes.
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Legal battle continues as Amaplat seeks asset seizure.
The Zimbabwe Mining Development Corp (ZMDC) has asked the Mines Ministry for a resolution to a longstanding dispute with a unit of Amaplat Mauritius that is laying claim to the assets.
A letter written by the company’s Chairman, Paul Chimboza, to Mines Minister Winston Chitando shows the ongoing issue. Chimboza confirmed the authenticity of the letter, which has been seen by Bloomberg, but declined to comment further, referring queries to the ministry.
$93 million owed as Zimbabwe faces mounting debt
The $93 million owed by ZMDC is among a litany of creditor woes confronting state entities in Zimbabwe. The government is more than $21 billion in debt and locked out of international capital markets after defaulting on payments owed to institutions, including the World Bank and European Investment Bank.
“The corporation has on many occasions requested that the Amari debt be assumed by the state,” Chimboza wrote about ZMDC’s standoff with the Amaplat unit. ZMDC, which the Treasury indicated should address the matter using internal resources, has few assets of its own as they have mostly been transferred to a new state company known as Defold Mine.
Legal battle intensifies with asset seizure threats
Zimbabwe’s case against Amaplat was heard by the International Chamber of Commerce’s arbitration court in a sitting in Zambia in 2014, and the tribunal ruled in the company’s favor. Zambia’s High Court granted Amaplat leave to enforce the arbitration ruling in 2019.
Two years later, the company made a proposal to the country’s finance ministry for the settlement of the debt, which amounted to $65.9 million at the time. That was acceded to with the understanding that ZMDC would make the payments.
According to NewZimbabwe, ZMDC suggested that Bravura, a company owned by Nigerian businessman Benedict Peters, pay Amaplat $15 million as part of the agreement. Bravura, which received platinum concessions, however, only paid $3 million to the mines ministry, and the remaining terms of the settlement, including the transfer of mining assets to Amaplat, haven’t been met.
Amaplat responded that the public debt remains the responsibility of the government of Zimbabwe for the full amount. Zimbabwe may face further legal complications as Amaplat plans to register its award in Canada, after already doing so in the US at the end of last year. A hearing in Canada is set for June 30.
