Online Reporter
Sikhulekelani Moyo, [email protected]
The National Competitiveness Commission (NCC) has urged the Government to urgently implement recommendations from last week’s competitiveness summit in Bulawayo to unlock more economic opportunities and guarantee long-term sustainability.
President Mnangagwa officially opened the highly subscribed Inaugural Competitiveness Summit, which was held at the Zimbabwe International Exhibition Centre (ZIEC) under the theme: “Building Sustainability Towards Enhanced Productivity and Competitiveness in Zimbabwe.”
In a closing statement, the NCC said achieving sustainability was at the core of national competitiveness, and meeting Vision 2030 targets. Among the key recommendations is the need to reduce the cost of doing business, reduce licensing fees to promote private sector participation in power production, adoption of climate-smart production, and foster public-private partnerships for infrastructure development.
To achieve this, the NCC said Zimbabwe should leverage its natural and human capital, adopt innovative approaches to sustainability, and integrate into the global economy through strategic reforms.
“The recommendations and Competitiveness Call-to-Action rest on the principle that sustainability, inclusiveness, and competitiveness are interwoven, reinforcing one another,” said the Commission.
“By implementing these recommendations, the nation can unlock economic opportunities, build a resilient and inclusive society, and secure long-term sustainability.
“This will further be supported by the development of a five-year Competitiveness Strategy to guide the national competitiveness and the ease of doing business agenda.”
The NCC said a memorandum to Cabinet on the 2025 Competitiveness Call to Action for Zimbabwe has since been developed, and shared with the respective authority, to seize the opportunities that abound in the country to redefine Zimbabwe’s trajectory and position it as a leading African economy in sustainability, innovation, productivity, and competitiveness.
“NCC will develop an implementation matrix on the adopted strategies and track progress, which will be reviewed at the next Competitiveness Summit,” said the commission.
The Commission also recommended the adoption and institutionalisation of Regulatory Impact Assessment (RIA) in policy and regulation formulation to improve quality to enhance competitiveness.
It said this was critical as it provides a cost-benefit analysis for the regulation.
“One of the major factors hampering competitiveness is the overregulated business operating environment, particularly the regulatory compliance costs, accounting for 17,8 percent of total overhead costs for business,” it noted.
“The Zimbabwean business environment is over-taxed, with 43 percent of Government revenue coming from taxes regardless of a declining industrial performance,” said NCC.
“For instance, Zimbabwe has a total of 51 taxes compared to South Africa (seven) and Zambia (11), making the country’s products more expensive and uncompetitive on the market.”
Some of the recommendations include undertaking a comprehensive study to ascertain the burden, appropriateness, and cost of regulations on businesses to improve competitiveness and minimise the risk of the increased number of distressed companies.
The Commission further emphasised the need to establish an intersectoral Business Council Apex Body that encompasses all business membership organisations (BMOs) to represent industries, businesses, and private sector interests at national or international levels in a coordinated manner.
NCC also suggested the reduction of the exchange rate misalignment and maintaining a market-driven exchange rate to enhance competitiveness and the SMEs to practice “crowdfunding” for accessibility to cheaper resources rather than solely relying on financial institutions for the provision of credit facilities.
The commission also appealed to the Government to support domestic industry through procurement of locally produced goods, to improve local industry capacities and support the development of local value chains, and incentivising private businesses that source locally produced goods through tax incentives, subsidies, and grants.
The objective of the summit was to elaborate on the formulation of sustainable reforms critical for attracting both local and foreign investment, as well as enhancing industry productivity and competitiveness across all sectors of the economy.
The summit, which provided a platform for robust dialogue amongst key competitiveness stakeholders, will be an annual event where solution-based recommendations will be proffered for enhancing productivity and competitiveness. —@SikhulekelaniM1
