‘SEZ Bill near completion’

Ngoni Dapira
INDUSTRIALISTS have been urged not to despair, but remain optimistic as Government tirelessly works towards turning around the country’s current socio-economic adversities. This was highlighted by Vice-President Emmerson Mnangagwa recently. Cde Mnangagwa urged industrialists to seize and make the most of forthcoming opportunities being created by Government to steer the economy back into growth trajectory.

“I want to remind industrial leaders that our country is at a crossroads and that the seeds of turning around the economy and capacitating our industry to new heights are at our disposal. To realise this, I implore you to seize the opportunities availed to you by Government and make the most of them. It is important for you our captains of industry to understand what Government is doing to overturn our current economic situation,” he said.

Cde Mnangagwa, however, said the delay in the implementation of the Special Economic Zones was the drafting of the Bill which was now near completion.
Finance and Economic Development Minister, Cde Patrick Chinamasa updated on the SEZ Bill, adding that the ball was currently in the court of the Attorney General’s Office and the final drafting of the Bill was currently in progress.

“A team of experts from China is also currently assisting to implement the SEZ Bill based on their experience in China,” said Cde Chinamasa.
Cde Mnangagwa, however, urged industrialists to be innovative, saying this was the bedrock of unlocking and powering industry to new heights.
He added that world over innovation was now the lynchpin of manufacturing.

The Vice-President also urged industry to embrace Zim-Asset, adding that the country has the potential of catapulting itself to new heights.
“By way of clarity, innovation encapsulates the ability to turn knowledge into new and improved goods and services. This will enable us to develop new strengths in value added products and services that can compete well within and out of the country. I believe that driven innovation is the bedrock for unlocking and powering manufacturing to new heights,” he said.

Cde Mnangagwa said the Mid-Term Fiscal Policy Review announced by Cde Chinamasa reflected Government’s major priority towards reviving the manufacturing sector among a host of concerns to improve productivity and create formal employment.

“These include protective measures to ensure that the textile industry, agro-processing, mining and the leather industry among others thrive. The other initiatives include the reduction of power tariffs for tourism, mining and manufacturing,” he said.

Answering questions on the negative effects of the country’s high risk profile, Cde Mnangagwa said it was just a perception which could easily be turnaround.
“An attendant issue is the ability to anticipate and manage risks. I am aware that some quarters regard Zimbabwe as a high risk country. I urge you not to take this as given. For a start, history teaches us that it is those with a high degree of astuteness who can turn odds into benefits and thrive on adversity by turning the negatives into positives . . .

“So let us not concentrate on the negatives, but look forward to a bright future that we are striving for with many mega-deals on the cards. The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step and as government we have already taken that step,” he said.

On the other hand, Cde Mnangagwa also revealed that plans were at an advanced stage to create a new railway line network outside the existing structure as Government targets to move over 5 million metric tonnes of goods by rail in the coming years.

He said Government was in advanced consultations with Mozambique for a railway line coming from Mozambique to Zambia via the Zambezi River.
He said the existing rail infrastructure had limited capacity to steer the economic growth of the country as it could only move 1,2 million metric tonnes of goods annually.
Cde Mnangagwa said so advanced was the process that a company called SITC International had been identified to work with Government and was at the stage of discussing the process of financing the project.