Consider long-term projects, govt urged

Ngoni Dapira Business Correspondent
The Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries has urged the Government to think long-term on macro-economic projects, and speed up the enactment of key laws that will attract fresh investment like the Special Economic Zones and Joint Ventures Bills. This was highlighted during the Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries national president’s business round-table in Mutare last Friday.

This was part of CZI national president Mr Busisa Moyo’s countrywide tour to meet and discuss socio-economic concerns with captains of industry regionally. Real estate businessman Mr Joseph Sanhanga said Zimbabweans were sitting on a pot of gold but failing to tap into its plentiful natural resources.

He said although quick-win short term policies were essential to speedily cushion the people, a long-term macro-economic blueprint for the country was needed.

“We should ask ourselves why whites invested so much in this country and still intend to return. There is a lot of wealth in Zimbabwe. We need a long term macro-economic blueprint that will guide the way beyond 2020 or even 20 years from now. This will also draw investors with billion dollar futuristic projects especially in renewable energy and in the manufacturing sector,” said Mr Sanhanga.

He underscored that short term policies were susceptible to corruption. Manicaland CZI chairman, Mr Richard Chiwandire reinforced this by calling for the expedition of the SEZs Bill and the Joint Ventures Bill.

“We are crying for fresh investment but ironically delaying the SEZ Bill, which has huge potential to lure investors. Even the Joint Ventures Bill is important in paving way for Built Operate and Transfer deals. The Manicaland province has a lot of idle projects in dire need of these Bills to get the ball rolling,” said Mr Chiwandire.

The captains of industry present were all agreeable that to make the Zimbabwe Agenda for Sustainable Socio-Economic Transformation work, there was a critical need to tow a line between politics and business particularly in the revival of the country’s manufacturing industry.

Mr Moyo said there was need for a sector by sector inventory to quantify the funding requirements in the country for investors. He said most of the statistics were speculative particularly those required for the resuscitation of the manufacturing sector. He added that as CZI they have been advocating for the SEZs incentives not to be zero but lower with special rates to attract investors.

The CZI boss said this year, with the assistance of funding from the United. Nations under the Trade and Private Sector Development Programme, CZI was working on evidence based statistics citing that such statistics would help lure investors and perk up concerns about the country’s high risk profile by investors.

“In October CZI launched the business confidence index measured through questionnaires conducted on a quarterly basis. The results of this quarter are expected to be out soon. There is also the purchasing manager index, which measures the quarterly changes in the Gross Domestic Product. We are also campaigning for lean manufacturing in our manufacturing industry which cuts on production costs and improves productivity,” said the CZI boss.

Mr Moyo added that the time to attract international investors was now given the rising outlook in Europe that the sun was fast setting on Asia and rising on Africa. “We are on the fastest growing continent so let us take advantage of this notion as Zimbabwe. However as a nation, we need to learn to protect what remains and facilitate the new,” he said.

Mr Moyo also called for pragmatic policies that generate business and for more pace on the implementation of earmarked projects and blueprints. He spoke on the current problem of tax on tax affecting business suggesting the taxation of profits instead.

Other major issues highlighted as priority areas in the manufacturing sector were the monitoring of customs duties on inputs into production and other trade measures, improvement in power generation through renewable energy projects and operationalisation of the National Competitiveness Commission.