Old Mutual says its investments are dictated by profit and not
political considerations.

The insurance giant was reacting to a call to shed its
investment in the Zimbabwean company that prints the Mugabe
government's propaganda mouthpiece, the Herald newspaper.

"Our investments are made for the benefit of our policyholders,
meant to meet needs and expectations in terms of return and not
contingent upon political consideration," OM Zimbabwe group chief
executive Luke Ngwerume said in a statement on Wednesday.

"Disinvestment from major assets would ultimately have adverse
consequences for our policyholders."

The call was issued on Wednesday by Passop, a Cape Town-based
refugee rights organisation, which claimed Old Mutual was the
second-largest shareholder in Zimbabwe Newspapers Ltd and was "thus
guilty of directly supporting the Mugabe regime".

Passop said the Herald and its sister papers were among the
ruling Zanu-PF's most vital tools "for retaining its place as one
of the most infamously corrupt and brutal governments of the last
decade".

"Their investment... is a pact with the devil. Did they invest
in Nazi Germany too?"

However, Ngwerume said OM Zimbabwe was managing the savings of
more than a million Zimbabweans, "a responsibility which we take
very seriously".

The option for investing customer funds were limited by legal
requirements such as exchange controls, which precluded investment
in foreign assets.

Printing company Natprint printed not only the Herald, but a
number of other newspapers, too.

"It is just one of a number of assets in the Zimpapers Group, in
which we are invested, and represents our exposure to the very
limited print and media industry.

"Zimpapers is the only substantial print and media asset that is
available to policyholders in terms of exposure to that sector."

He said OM understood Passop's concerns and shared its desire to
look after the interest of ordinary Zimbabweans.

"We have always been open to conversation and would welcome
engagement from any concerned stakeholders," he said.


Richmark Sentinel : November 11