LIVINGSTONE MARUFU
Cabinet has approved the setting up of a fully constituted Companies and Intellectual Property Office of Zimbabwe to keep up with global modern business demands.
The move is also expected to improve the ease of doing business, Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services, Monica Mutsvangwa, said at a post-Cabinet briefing on Tuesday.
“The scenario has remained rigid and unchanged for the past 40 years and can no longer keep up with the increasing obligations and modern business demands for real time service,” Mutsvangwa said.
“In the advent of the promulgation of the Companies and Other Business Entities Act, there is a need to operationalise this requirement.”
Currently, the Companies and Intellectual Property Offices are sections within the Department of Deeds, Companies and Intellectual Property.
“It is therefore essential to restructure and create a fully constituted Companies and Intellectual Property Office, devoted to dealing with companies and intellectual property matters. This will go a long way in improving the ease of doing business in Zimbabwe,” Mutsvangwa said.
She said Cabinet also approved the proposed transfer of the Office of the Master of the High Court from the Judicial Service Commission to the Ministry of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs as presented by the Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Minister.
Mutsvangwa said in coming up with the decision, the Cabinet noted that Section 3 of the Administration of Estates Act (Chapter 6:01), which created the Office of the Master of the High Court, clearly states that the office forms part of the Public Service.
On the other hand, in performing its functions of supervising insolvent estates, which activities involve administration of liquidation of companies, judicial management, corporate rescue and sequestration of estates of individuals, the Master’s Office does not perform those functions as a court but rather as an administrative board reposed with authority to supervise the winding up of insolvent estates as provided for by the Insolvency Act.
In addition, the Master of the High Court collects revenue in the form of estate duty and estate fees.
This executive function is performed in aid of the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority, consequently feeding into the fiscus.
This function constitutes the bulk of the Master of the High Court’s work as revenue is collected from all estates.
