Chronicle Editor
Business Reporters
THE Zimbabwe Investment Development Agency (Zida) should issue out consolidated investment permits to prospective investors to cut bureaucracy and improve the ease of doing business.
This was said by stakeholders who attended a public hearing on the Zida Bill conducted by two Parliamentary Portfolio Committees on Industry and Commerce, and Foreign Affairs and International Trade at the Large City Hall in Bulawayo and Victoria Falls this week.
The two committees were led by Zanu-PF legislator for Makonde, Mr Kindness Paradza. Government gazetted the Zida Bill in April.
A participant at the forum, Mr Privilege Zvavamwe, proposed that Zida should issue out consolidated licences to prospective investors in various sectors of the economy.
“Are they going to be empowered to issue permits, or are they there to redirect possible investors to certain departments or they should assist the prospective investors?
“My proposal would be for them to be empowered to issue permits or for Zida to issue consolidated permits, which cover all these other permits,” he said.
“You will realise that if this Bill has a clause that will allow Zida to issue out a consolidated permit that will improve our investment climate unlike in a case where each department will issue its own permit that will delay the investment application and approval process.”
Mr Calvin Manduna, a Zimbabwean PhD candidate at Howard University in Washington DC, United States of America, cautioned against borrowing economic models from other countries regarding Special Economic Zones.
“The success of those zones in my experience is very cultural. I remember Zimbabwe years ago, we used to send a delegation to Botswana to study Botswana on diamond polishing and when they came back home, they could not replicate the Botswana polishing industry because of our culture which is different,” he said.
“As Zimbabweans, we are very bureaucratic people.”
He was responding to Mr Paradza who had earlier indicated that on the implementation of SEZs, Zimbabwe would send some legislators to study how Rwanda has implemented the SEZs. Others highlighted that Zida should be decentralised to expedite investment application and approval processes in provinces.
In Victoria Falls, residents said there was a need for Zida to expedite Special Economic Zone (SEZ) implementation. They said the Bill should speedily weed out policies that drive away investors and create an investor friendly environment that accommodates locals.
“This is a Special Economic Zone hence we want a Bill that will also empower local investors. The Minister must not have monopoly over appointment of board members but those selected should be subjected to interviews so that we have competent and neutral people,” said one participant.
“Board members should come from different regions and the Zida head office should be stationed in Victoria Falls because it’s the centre of investments. This is in line with devolution. We’re tired as Matabeleland to be contributing our views and concerns yet you don’t use any of them and we remain backward.”
Others said the Bill should liberalise investment and allow investors to choose locals of their choice as partners. Also topical was the issue of the licensing and border control model, which participants said was scaring away investors.
It was also highlighted that the Zida Bill should have a provision for dealing with corruption, which was one of the impediments to attracting foreign direct investment. The Zida Bill has among others clauses that seek to establish a one stop-shop investment centre, which shall have representatives of entities that play a role in the licencing, establishment and operationalisation of investments.
Such entities include the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority, Environmental Management Agency, Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, Companies office, and the National Social Security Authority.
Online Reporter