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Whinsley Masara Chronicle Reporter
THE Speaker of the National Assembly, Cde Jacob Mudenda has said the country’s Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Act needs to be urgently amended to make it easy for investors to invest in Zimbabwe. Cde Mudenda said this yesterday at the joint sensitisation workshop for parliamentary portfolio committees on ease of doing business in the country.
The Speaker said negative perceptions of the country will scuttle potential foreign and even local investors. He said the Zimbabwe Investment Authority Act and the Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Act need to be urgently reformed so that they have definitive provisions that will promote the ease of doing business in the country.
“These two pieces of legislation, together with other related investment laws should define who is an investor and define also the investment templates in the various sectors of our economy,” said the Speaker. Cde Mudenda said taxation laws also need to be revamped to ensure that both domestic and foreign direct investors do not suffer from excessive taxation which impinge on profitable return on investment.
Another area needing reform relates to immigration laws, the Speaker added, so that investors can access visas at the port of entry when they come into the country to conclude investment transactions.
He said the country’s mineral and company laws should also be revised. “To buttress that Mining Act reform, we need to have in place a Mining Exploration Act so that Zimbabwe can be better informed of its mineral resource worthiness, qualitatively and quantitatively,” he added.
“In this context, I’m happy that the laws relating to fiscal reforms such as the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Law and the Banking Law will boost investor confidence in so far as the country will be able to manage its financial liquidity which must raise, of necessity, investor confidence.”
He emphasised the need to craft Special Economic Zones legislation as a matter of urgency. “Countries such as China and Singapore have been able to double or even triple their foreign direct investment portfolios through the establishment of Special Economic Zones,” he added.
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