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Brighton Gumbo Business Reporter
THE Zimbabwe Investment Authority (ZIA) will next year collaborate with local authorities to develop investment promotion frameworks aimed at improving the ease of doing business.
Speaking during the Local Government Economic Development Forum in Bulawayo yesterday, ZIA chairman Nigel Chanakira said the initiative was aimed at developing investor-friendly policy frameworks.
It is hoped that the policy frameworks would establish key alliances and partnerships between the investment authority, local authorities and the private sector.
He said the programme would package investment opportunities in local authorities for marketing to domestic and foreign investors.
“The investment authority will in 2016 launch the ZIA Local Authorities Collaboration Initiative, a programme designed to achieve the development of investment promotion frameworks to improve the ease of doing business in local authorities,” said Chanakira.
He said the collaboration also seeks to achieve increased availability of projects from across the country through resource mobilisation strategies for local authorities.
“With an increased awareness of opportunities among local authorities, equitable development across the country will be harmonised,” he said.
“Employment creation and capital formation away from the urban centres reduce rural-urban migration and therefore lowering pressure on resources in urban centres.”
The ZIA boss said the programme was also designed to come up with promotional materials, investment promotion events and packaging of investment opportunities in local authorities.
He said local authorities were well placed to develop viable commercial activities based on resource endowments within their localities.
“Ventures can be used to cross subsidise service provision and public goods, some services can be run on self sustaining and income generating basis for example properties and golf courses,” he said.
Among others, he said ZIA was planning to develop investment promotion capacity in local authorities by assisting in arranging promotional events and producing materials in 2016.
“As ZIA, we envisage a prosperous Zimbabwe with local authorities thriving and maximising from their competitive advantages and resource endowments.
“We also see prospects in collaborating with the local governments in joint marketing and promoting of their projects and facilitating investors to set up shop in the respective regions,” he said.
According to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, Zimbabwe’s foreign direct investment inflows significantly increased from $400 million in 2013 to $545 million last year, but still fell far behind most regional countries.
Last year, South Africa recorded FDI inflows of $5,7 billion, Mozambique $4,9 billion, Zambia $2,4 billion, Malawi $130 million and Swaziland $13 million.
derick.khumalo