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Enia Nyakudzambara and Martin Kadzere
MOST companies facing de-registration and those struck off by the Registrar of Companies have largely been involved in speculative activities while others have been inactive for years, deputy registrar of companies Ms Elizabeth Nyagura said yesterday.As such, their elimination from the companies’ registry will not have an impact on the economy. A total of 205 companies were de-registered while about 600 face the chop.

According to a general notice published in a Government Gazette last week, shareholders of 205 de-registered companies applied for voluntary de-registration in 2010.
A total of 603 firms were given three months notice to file information required by authorities.

Ms Nyagura said most of the firms are shelf companies formed during hyperinflation for speculative purposes while some never traded since their registration.

“Most of the companies were formed for other reasons during the hyperinflation era and some of them wanted to withdraw a lot of money (from banks), said Ms Nyagura. She added that their dissolution would not “change the status” of the economy.

Ms Nyagura said firms facing deregistration should file information required by the authorities to avoid being struck off. “At the expiration of three months from the date of publication of the notice, the names of the companies set out from the schedule shall be dissolved. These companies have failed to lodge the statutory returns for about two years.

“Companies operating, after seeing the notice, can bring out the outstanding annual returns so that they will not be stuck off,” said Ms Nyagura. But for the delisted ones “It was voluntary…they actually compiled a form which is signed by audit directors.”

An official at the registrar of companies also confirmed that the companies will not have “any material impact” on the economy. “Most of the companies were registered for speculative purposes and some never traded or contributed to the fiscus,” said the official.

The Registrar of Companies often used to publish such notices but the process became too expensive since dollarization. It is now in the process of computerising under the e-Government programme. “When computerised we will have online registration and even reminders will be sent online which will keep reminding our clients.

“When we are computerised, we will have an interface with Zimra to make sure that companies are submitting their returns. It’s not good for parastatals or Government to give them a tender when they are not submitting returns. The software has been developed under the e-Government programme,” said Ms Nyagura.